THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE    LETTERS    OF 
SAMUEL    REYNOLDS    HOLE 


"  And  as  the  flower  of  roses  in  the 
spring  of  the  year,  as  lilies  by  the  rivers 
of  waters,  and  as  the  branches  of  the 
frankincense  tree  in  the  time  of  summer.  ^^ 

ECCLESIASTICUS  1.  8. 


QJa^uieAy  ^i^j^no-idi)  ,  no4£y 


THE  LETTERS  OF 

SAMUEL  REYNOLDS 
HOLE 

DEAN  OF  ROCHESTER 


EDITED,   WITH    A    MEMOIR,    BY 

GEORGE    A.    B.    DEWAR 


NEW  YORK 

THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON:  GEORGE  ALLEN  ^  SONS 

1907 


Printed  by  Ballantyne,  Hanson  d^  Co. 
At  the  Ballantyne  Press,  Edinburgh 


CONTENTS 


MEMOIR 

. 

. 

. 

xi 

A  CHRONOLOGY         

.      Ivi 

LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE  TO  :— 

His  Father 

I 

J.  W.  Maxwell  Lyte   . 

. 

.    2,3 

Thomas  Rivers . 

9 

John  Leech 

10,  16 

,  18, 

19,  20 

His  Father        .... 

23 

John  Leech        .... 

. 

.       25 

His  Wife   .         .      26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  32,  34 

.  37. 

38.  40 

The  Rev.  C.  C.  Ellison     -  40,  42,  42,  44,  44,  45 

,  46, 

47,  48 

Charles  Turner  ....... 

•       50 

Joe  Birley    52,  53,  54,  S5>  56,  57.  58.  58,  59.  60,  6 

1,62 

63.64 

George  Paul 

.       64 

Dr.  John  Brown 

•       65 

His  Wife  .... 

69,  70 

A  Friend  in  Grief 

.       71 

His  Wife  .... 

.       72 

Editor  of  Newark  Advertiser 

•       73 

His  Wife  .... 

.       76 

Bishop  Benson  . 

.       76 

His  Wife  .... 

77,80 

Bishop  Benson . 

81 

Mrs.  Riddell      . 

.       82 

T.  B.  Hall 

•       83 

Bishop  Benson  . 

.       84 

Canon  Trebeck 

.       85 

David  Douglas  . 

•.     85 

T.  B.  Hall 

•       87 

James  Blackney         .         93,  g 

3,  94 

95.' 

)6,  96 

.  97. 

98,  99 

64638:^ 


VI 


CONTENTS 


LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE  TO  :— 


His  Little  Nieces 

Archbishop  Benson   . 

The  Rev.  R.  H.  Whitworth 

T.  B.  Hall 

Mrs.  Benson 

His  Little  Nieces 

The  Rev.  R.  H.  Whitworth 

T.  B.  Hall 

The  Hon.  Mrs.  Francklin 

T.  B.  Hall 

His  Wife  . 

For  Mrs.  Hole's  Pet  Dog 

T.  Francis  Rivers 

Lord  Halifax     . 

T.  Francis  Rivers 

His  Wife  . 

T.  B.  Hall 

George  Powell  . 

T.  B.  Hall 

J.  Henry  Shorthouse 

T.  B.  Hall 

His  Wife  . 

Dean  Pigou 

His  Wife  . 

Archbishop  Benson   . 

Dean  Pigou 

His  Wife  . 

Richard  Daft     . 

His  Son    . 

R.  W.  Greensmith 

Henry  Silver 

His  Wife  . 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins 

William  Walker 

His  Son    . 

His  Wife  . 

Canon  Pollock  . 

His  Son    . 


135. 


20,  I 


20,  I 


36,  I 


37,  I 


PAGE 

•  99 
100 
102 

.  103 
104 
.  105 
.  106 
.  108 
.  108 
.  X09 
.  no 
.     Ill 

•  112,  113 
.  113 
.  114 

•  "4,  115 
116,  117 

21,  121,  122,  123 
123,  124 
.  125 
.  129 

.  131 
.  131 
.  132 

•  133 

40,  140,  141,  142 

•  143 
.  144 
.  146 

•  147 

•  149 
.  150 
.  151 
.  152 

•  153 

•  154 

•  154.  155 

•  157 


CONTENTS 
LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE  TO:— 

His  Wife  . 

His  Son    . 

His  Wife  . 

T.  B.  Hall 

His  Son    . 

Bruce  Findley   . 

Mrs.  Nicholson 

Bruce  Findley  . 
T,  F.  Bayard     . 

Mrs.  Burnaby- Atkins 

Bruce  Findley  . 

His  Son    . 

C.  E.  Kempe    . 

Dean  Farrar 

The  "  Dean  of  South wark 

Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins 

Bishop  of  Rochester  . 

The  Rev.  F.  C.  Boultbee 

His  Son    . 

Sybil  Corbet      . 

Bishop  of  Rochester 

Henry  Silver 

Dean  Pigou 

F.  Burnaby-Atkins 

Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins 

His  Son    . 

Mrs.  Markham  . 

Miss  Elkington 

Henry  Silver      . 

F.  Burnaby-Atkins 

Joe  Birley 

His  Son    . 

Canon  Trebeck 

Lord  Victor  Seymour 

Mrs.  Farrar 

Sir  Henry  Nicholson 

Mrs.  Markham 

Canon  Tetley  Rowe 


'59.  I 


Vll 

PACE 

o,  161 
162 

63.  163 
166 

167 

168 

169 

169 
170 

171 

172 

173 
173 
174 
175 

176 

177 
179 
181 
182 

183 

184 

185,  186 
187 
188 
189 

190 

191 
193 
193 
194 

195 

196 

197 
198 


19 


VIM 


CONTENTS 


LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE  TO:— 


Sir  Henry  Nicholson 

199 

May  Burnaby-Atkins 

200 

Mrs.  Maxwell    . 

201 

Bishop  of  Rochester  . 

202 

Sir  F.  C.  Burnand 

203 

George  Winch  . 

203 

Lady  Falmouth 

204 

Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins 

205 

W.  F.  Grundy  . 

206 

George  A.  B.  Dewar 

207 

VV.  G.  Hole 

209 

Editor  of  the  Times  . 

210 

George  Paul 

211 

Joseph  K.  Still . 

213 

George  A.  B.  Dewar  . 

214 

T.  H.  Foord      . 

2] 

5.   216 

2l8 

A  Lover  of  Gardens  . 

219 

A  Birthday  Speech    . 

220 

George  Mount  . 

221 

George  A.  B.  Dewar . 

222 

Bishop  of  Rochester  . 

223 

J.  F.  R.  Stainer 

224 

APPENDICES  :— 

A — The  Dean's  Selection  of  the  best  Roses  for  all 

Gardens 

231 

B — Roses  in  the  Deanery  Garden   at    Rochester  in 

1903 

232 

C— "  The  Vulgar  Tongue  " 

. 

235 

D — The    Election   of  Proctors  for 

the    Diocese    of 

Southwell 

, 

258 

E — Classes  and  Rules  for  the  First 

National   Rose 

Show,  July  I,  1858 

. 

268 

INDEX  .... 

. 

2TX 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Samuel  Reynolds  Hole  (Photogravure)      .         .   Frontispiece 

Caunton  Manor  House      ....  To  face  page  xliii 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reynolds  Hole  (May  1861)        „        „       26 

Benedict  (Dean  Hole's  favourite  horse)  .        „        „       59 

Richmond,  Regulus,  and  Ringwood  (Three 
famous  hounds  bred  at  the  Rufford 
Kennels  in  the  'sixties)   .         .         .         .         „         ,,92 

Samuel  Hole  (Dean  Hole's  father)       ..,,,,     152 

The  Rosary  at  Caunton    .        .        .        .        ,,        ,,188 


SAMUEL    REYNOLDS    HOLE 

^^  Deo  G  rati  as.  I  have  Lord  Salisbury's  note. 
You  will  care  for  the  souls  of  those  men  and  you 
will  care  for  the  Church.  You  will  care  for  the 
Church  and  you  will  care  for  those  souls  of  men. 
And  we  shall  have  no  pettinesses.  Deo  Gratias." 
—(Archbishop  Benson,  loth  December  1887,  on 
Dean  Hole's  appointment  to  Rochester.) 

It  is  a  true  saying  that  no  man  can  write  even 

"his  single  day, 
And  no  one  can  write  it  for  him  upon  earth." 

A  man's  life,  even  the  life  of  the  most  artless  of 
men,  is  a  thing  too  complex,  with  its  ceaseless 
and  largely  hidden  interplay  of  circumstance  and 
motive,  and  its  finer  lines  and  shades  of  character, 
to  be  told  in  language  and  printed  off.  Dates 
and  other  obvious  events  can  be  stated  with 
authority  and  precision  ;  but  when  it  comes  to 
the  heart  and  mind,  the  story  of  these — the  real 
inner  life  of  a  man  or  woman — can  never,  with 
sureness,  be  fully  told.  Probably  the  truest  pages 
of  a  man's  life  that  can  be  written  are  his  letters. 


xii  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

In  the  "Life  and  Letters"  of  a  public  man,  it  is 
commonly  the  letters  that  form  the  most  valuable 
part  of  the  biography.  In  them,  as  Goethe 
said,  a  man's  soul  does  often  seem  to  lie  bare. 
They  answer  to  the  "original  sources"  of  history, 
and  on  the  whole  are  more  trustworthy  than  even 
Autobiographies  and  Confessions,  which  sometimes 
have  been  written  with  an  eye  on  the  world. 
The  letters  which  are  specially  valuable  for  throw- 
ing light  on  the  character  and  life  of  a  man  are 
often  his  everyday  letters ;  letters  touching  on  his 
play  as  well  as  his  work,  on  the  daily  round  and 
trivial  task,  on  his  friendships,  memories,  books, 
garden,  on  the  many  little  things  which,  after  all, 
must  together  form  so  large  a  part  of  the  life  of 
the  public  man  as  of  the  private  individual.  It 
is  through  these  things,  and  the  way  in  which 
he  engages  in  them,  that  we  often  get  a  good 
idea  of  a  man's  character  and  of  his  disposition. 

The  letters  in  this  book  have  been  collected 
and  chosen  with  a  view  to  give  the  public,  that 
has  long  shown  such  interest  in  Dean  Hole  as 
.,  preacher  and  as  author,  a  picture  of  the  man  him- 
self. The  collection  certainly  differs  a  good  deal 
from  many  "Lives  and  Letters"  of  public  men 
which  have  been  printed  of  late  years.  In  collect- 
ing material  for  this  book  we  have  not  tried  to 
find  and  choose  for  publication  "important"  letters 
of  a   public  character,   throwing   light   on  this  or 


A    MEMOIR  xiii 

that  church  phase,  or  absorbing  social  or  political 
question  of  the  hour.  The  letters  actually  chosen 
from  Dean  Hole's  large  correspondence  with  men 
in  every  class  of  life  will  not  take  the  reader 
behind  the  scenes  in  church  politics  or  polemics. 
They  throw  little  light  on  controversies  as  to 
High  Church,  Broad  Church,  Low  Church,  and  as 
to  ritual ;  controversies  which  burned  and  cooled 
during  the  fifty-nine  years  of  his  ministry.  They 
are  wholly  without  the  odium  theologicum,  though 
their  writer  was  well  known  to  be  far  from  colour- 
less ;  well  known  to  hold  stiff  opinions  on  the 
subjects  out  of  which  liveliest  church  controversies 
spring,  and  when  he  chose — for  nobody  chose  for 
him — to  put  these  opinions  into  plain  English. 
They  let  out  no  secrets,  and  they  argue  the  case 
for  no  faction  of  church  thought.  Where  they 
argue,  they  argue  the  lasting,  larger  truths  of  life. 
The  words  of  Archbishop  Benson,  quoted  above, 
seem  to  sum  up  admirably  the  work  and  disposi- 
tion of  Hole  as  Churchman  :  "  Deo  Gratias.  You 
will  care  for  the  souls  of  those  men  and  you  will 
care  for  the  Church.  You  will  care  for  the  Church 
and  you  will  care  for  those  souls  of  men.  And  we 
shall  have  no  pettinesses."  The  words  apply  well 
to  any  period  of  Hole's  ministry. 

As  to  controversies,  no  doubt  a  certain  number 
of  his  letters,  published  and  unpublished,  might  be 
collected  which  touch  on  this  side ;  but  they  were 


xiv  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS   HOLE 

few  and  far  between,  surprisingly  few  they  might 
seem  to  some  people,  considering  the  world  of 
debate  in  which  he  moved,  and  the  wide  circle  of 
people  of  all  shades  and  extremes  of  opinion  he 
dealt  with.  One  would  not  suggest  that  he  was 
above  controversy ;  everybody  knows  that  many 
ofood  and  strono^  men,  earnest  in  the  search  for 
truth,  have  engaged  in  argumentative  Christianity  ; 
it  would  be  wrong  to  say  that  he  was  above — 
rather  he  was,  in  the  main,  outside  it  through 
strong  taste  for  other  ways  of  activity.  A  large, 
joyous,  full-blooded,  warm-hearted  vigour  took  him 
in  another  direction  than  that  of  dispute.  His  was 
a  very  human  activity,  man  being  with  him  truly 
brother-man  ;  and  his  eager  aim  was  to  plunge 
straight  into  the  crowd,  to  be  really  in  touch  with 
people  who  needed  to  be  humanised  and  Chris- 
tianised— for  you  must  humanise  them  first,  he 
would  say.  Such  natures  are  not  for  dialectics, 
or  the  arena  of  words  and  forms :  and  when  they 
do  engage  in  this  field  it  is  not  often  with  marked 
success.  For  one  thing,  they  are  not  subtle 
enough  ;  for  another,  they  are  often  too  impatiently 
direct.  The  missionary  does  not  set  out  on  his 
work  to  argue  what  the  gospel  is,  or  with  precisely 
what  ritual  it  should  be  presented  to  the  people. 
And  Hole  was  nothing  if  not  a  missionary;  one 
of  a  child-like  simplicity,  an  iron  will — qualities  by 
no  means  clashing — and  a  great,  roomy  heart,  with 


A   MEMOIR  XV 

a  warm  corner  in  it  for  men  of  any  class  and  fortune. 
These  characteristics  are  brought  out  by  the  letters 
in  this  book,  but  it  may  be  worth  while  to  touch 
on  them  here.  First,  as  to  his  simplicity.  He 
was  a  child  in  this  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Many 
who  knew  and  cared  for  him  bear  witness  to  it. 
Here  are  some  pleasant  words  by  Mr.  Bristowe, 
the  Director  of  Education  at  Nottingham,  whose 
uncle.  Sir  Henry  Bristowe,  was  a  great  friend  of 
Hole's.  He  says  :  "  The  last  time  I  saw  my  uncle, 
I  was  with  him  in  Cheshire.  Dean  Hole  arrived 
first,  and  later  my  uncle  came  in.  I  shall  never 
forget  those  two  big  men  meeting  and  hugging 
each  other,  their  eyes  glistening  with  happiness — 
and  I  believe  with  tears.  They  had  not  met  for 
so  long.  Both  were  so  affectionate  and  true- 
hearted.  They  had  not  put  away  the  best  of 
childish  things.  .  .  .  They  had  poached  together 
as  boys,  and  I  never  hear,  alas,  now  such  stories 
as  they  told  !  "  Hole  kept  to  the  close  that  charm 
of  freshness  and  singleness  of  mind  that  touch  us 
in  an  artless  child.  Was  not  his  occasional  im- 
patience like  that  of  a  child  ?  I  heard  the  word 
"  petulant  "  used — lovingly — of  Dean  Hole  in  this  ; 
and  it  struck  me  as  the  perfect  word  for  the  pur- 
pose ;  petulant  to  carry  through  his  programme  of 
good-doing.  The  artlessness  and  simplicity  appear 
in  nearly  all  his  written  and  printed  words.  They 
notably  appear   throughout  these   letters.      There 


xvi  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

never  were  letters  less  artificial  than  these.  I  have 
not  read  a  single  stilted  or  conventional  line  in 
a  letter  of  his.  Some  people,  I  know,  have  rather 
expected  to  find  in  this  book  the  flavour  of  the  old 
style  of  letter-writing,  such  as  flourished  when  the 
atmosphere  of  leisure  was  more  general,  and  people 
took  elaborate  pains  in  writing  their  letters ;  when 
the  writing  of  a  letter  was  a  comparatively  rare 
and  serious  business.  But  from  the  first  letter  to 
the  last  in  this  collection  there  is  no  sign  or  sugges- 
tion of  this  old-time  model  letter-writing — no  trace 
of  the  "epistolary"  style  of  our  forefathers.  One 
and  all  they  strike  us  as  quite  modern— just  as 
one  and  all  they  strike  us  as  the  letters  of  a  man 
who  never  let  loose  his  hold  on  the  joyousness, 
fulness,  and  intense  interest  of  life  in  its  many 
phases.  Much  of  the  letter-writing  in  the  old  style 
was  marked  by  a  certain  restraint  and  artificiality. 
We  find  this  even  in  some  of  the  model  and  classic 
letters  of  the  eighteenth  and  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth centuries.  Our  ancestors  punctuated  with 
such  pains.  They  were  nice — in  the  old  sense  of 
nice — they  were  precise ;  and  they  did  not  let 
themselves  go.  The  old-fashioned  letter  was  often 
a  kind  of  essay — a  prize  essay.  As  a  result,  there 
was  more  of  the  man's  pen  than  of  the  man  himself 
about  it.  But  in  these  letters  of  Dean  Hole,  it  is 
nothing  if  not  the  man  that  we  see  throughout. 
A   cynic  said   that  words  are  given  us  to  conceal 


A    MEMOIR  xvii 

our  thoughts  with  :  if  so,  Hole  never  made  use  of 
the  gift. 

In  one  way  these  letters,  it  may  be  said,  fail  to 
show  the  man  fully.  They  show  a  man  with  an 
abounding  zest  for  life  in  various  phases,  with 
"  active  powers "  that  were  rarely  still,  but  not 
necessarily  an  incessant  mover  in  the  more  serious 
walks  of  life.  And  this  would  be  quite  truly  said. 
They  do  not.  In  this  the  letters  fail  to  give  a  full- 
size  likeness  of  the  man.  As  we  shall  see.  Hole 
was  not  engaged  continuously  in  the  graver  work 
of  life  till  he  was  nearly  fifty.  At  an  age  when 
some  men  have  begun  to  think  of  easing  off,  he 
was  bringing  all  the  force  of  his  nature  to  bear  on 
the  greater  business  of  life!  It  is  not  surprising, 
then,  that  the  earlier  letters  in  this  collection  fail 
to  give  us  the  idea  of  Hole  as  a  very  hard  worker  ; 
for  they  do  not  synchronise  with  the  most  strenuous 
time  of  his  life.  But,  on  the  whole,  the  same  thing 
might  be  fairly  said  of  the  letters  which  Hole  wrote 
from,  say,  1870  to  the  end  of  his  life.  If  we  knew 
nothing  of  him  save  through  his  correspondence, 
we  should  hardly  picture  a  great  worker.  This 
may  be  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  comparatively 
few  letters  seem  to  have  passed  between  him  and 
friends  who  were  deeply  engaged  and  interested  in 
the  same  serious  subjects  of  church  work.  Dean 
Gregory,  Canon  Knox-Little,  and  the  present 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  were  dear  and  constant 


xviii  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS   HOLE 

friends  of  his,  often  discussing  with  him  the 
questions  of  church  work  they  had  at  heart,  but 
no  correspondence  to  speak  of  passed  between 
them  ;  and  the  same  might  be  said  of  many  others. 
The  notes  in  his  diaries  of  crowded  engagements 
from  1870  onwards  give  a  better  idea  of  Hole  as 
a  worker  than  anything  in  his  letters  to  friends. 
These  are  proof  of  an  unceasing  call  on  him  from 
all  parts  of  the  country.  Between  his  fiftieth  and 
seventieth  years  he  preached  many  hundreds  of 
sermons  in  English  and  Welsh  churches  and 
cathedrals,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  this 
period  he  was  engaged  in  mission  work  in  various 
crowded  places  :  Hull,  Norwich,  Northampton, 
and  Readinor  amono^st  others.  His  strenuousness 
as  a  worker  is  of  course  very  well  known  to  a  large 
number  of  people  ;  but  a  still  larger  public  has,  I 
am  sure,  never  fully  recognised  that  Dean  Hole 
ought  to  be  thought  of  first  and  foremost  as  a  great 
worker.  His  fame  as  a  rose-grower  and  gardener, 
his  witty  speeches,  the  atmosphere  of  leisure  and 
quiet  about  some  of  his  writings,  the  knowledge 
that  he  did  enjoy  with  a  full  heart  and  thankful- 
ness the  good  things  of  life — these  have  somewhat 
deceived  people  about  him  as  a  hard  worker.  Yet 
it  is  as  a  hard  worker  that  we  must  view  him. 
Looking  only  or  chiefly  at  the  genial  side  of  his 
character,  we  miss  the  right  proportions  altogether. 
A  notable  fact  about  Hole  as  a  great  worker  is 


A    MEMOIR  xix 

the  lateness  in  life  at  which  his  public  careerbegan. 
There  are  cases  of  men  who  have  changed  their 
profession  at  forty  years  of  age,  or  thereabouts, 
and  succeeded  in  their  new  calling  ;  and  there  are 
many  cases  of  men  ripening  late  in  life,  and  making 
a  name  and  position  against  competitors  who  had 
the  start  of  them  by  many  years.  Indeed  to 
blossom  with  great  vigour  in  early  youth  is  often 
to  run  to  seed  in  the  prime  of  life.  But  I  imagine 
that  Hole's  career  is  almost  unique  among  careers 
made  late  in  life.  The  turn  in  his  life  practically 
did  not  come  till  he  was  about  fifty.  His  is  thus 
a  great  example  to  men  who  have  "  missed "  in 
youth.  The  contemptible  cry  of  "  Too  old  at  forty," 
or  forty-five,  or  fifty — whichever  it  be — is  one  which 
no  man  worthy  the  name  would  raise  if  he  studied 
and  took  to  heart  a  life  like  Hole's.  Hole  would 
not  feel  himself  too  old  for  strenuous  work  at  fifty, 
he  would  not  feel  himself  too  old  at  seventy ;  and 
nothing  but  good  came  out  of  his  refusal  to  unman 
himself.  He  did,  it  is  true,  slacken  in  the  late 
'eighties  in  what  he  called  "foreign  service"  — 
mission  work  and  preaching  in  churches  throughout 
the  country — but  then  he  had  his  constant  duties 
at  Rochester,  which  left  him,  nearing  his  seventieth 
year,  not  much  facility  for  outside  work.  Hole's 
career  is  a  lesson  not  only  to  those  who  have 
missed  their  mark  in  earlier  years,  but  to  many  of 
us   who    have   the  conscience   to   work   but  a   will 


XX  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

unhappily  that  wavers.  We  work  by  spurts  only, 
and  attribute  our  failure  to  indifferent  health,  or 
want  of  vitality,  or  to  the  interference  of  numer- 
ous pursuits  and  engrossing  interests.  One  man 
bemoans  his  nervous  headaches,  another  his  weak 
digestion.  And  health  and  constitution  no  doubt 
are  factors.  But,  after  all,  work  is  largely  will. 
This  is  especially  so  in  what  may  be  called  piece- 
work— where  the  worker  is  not  obliged  to  keep 
on  continuously.  Hole's  "foreign  service"  was  of 
this  nature.  It  was  quite  voluntary,  and  there 
must  have  been  a  frequent  temptation  to  slacken 
and  to  enjoy  more  of  the  company,  flowers,  books, 
and  the  life  at  Caunton  which  he  prized  so  much. 
But  there  is  little  sign  of  slackening  to  be  found 
in  the  records  of  his  preaching  and  mission  work. 
Once  he  says,  in  reply  to  some  call  for  aid,  that 
he  wishes  to  set  apart  in  future  a  time  for  his 
literary  work.  But,  with  all  the  popularity  of  his 
books,  with  their  high  spirit  and  direct  force,  they 
were,  I  think,  but  a  small  part  of  himself.  Their 
success,  financially,  was  not  a  consideration  he 
could  always  afford  to  overlook,  but  on  the  whole 
his  books  were  in  the  nature  of  a  relaxation.  Work 
ruled  :  a  great  driving  strength  of  will  kept  him 
at  it. 

Perhaps  the  lateness  in  life  of  his  career  was 
partly  due  to  physical  causes.  He  said  that  he 
did  not  feel  his  full  strength  of  body  till  he  had 


A    MEMOIR  xxi 

passed  youth.  One  can  conceive  that  a  massive 
frame  like  his  is  not  always  at  its  prime,  knit  to 
perfection,  so  early  in  life  as  a  smaller  one  may  be. 
In  any  case,  the  store  of  health  and  strength  which 
he  laid  up  during  youth  and  earlier  middle  age  at 
Caunton  must  have  availed  much  in  later  life.  He 
did  not,  it  is  true,  lie  fallow  after  taking  his  degree 
at  Oxford  and  settling  down  to  the  life  of  parson 
and  squire  at  Caunton.  It  was  not  a  wasted  life 
there  at  any  time  ;  but  it  was  not  a  life  lived  at  any 
great  or  anxious  strain.  Two  written  and  read 
sermons  each  Sunday  and  ordinary  parish  work 
during  the  week  left  time  for  the  garden  and  the 
chase.  Here  was  just  that  mingling  of  work  and 
play,  of  mental  and  physical  activity,  which  spells 
health  ;  neither  the  body  nor  the  mind  put  to  a 
strain — the  golden  mean  of  health,  the  mens  sana 
in  corpore  sano,  which  those  may  well  aim  at  to 
whom  never  comes  the  ambition  nor  the  call  for 
a  strenuous  public  career. 

At  Caunton,  during  this  easy-going  time  of  his 
life,  Hole  preached  written  sermons.  One  Sunday 
the  light  failed,  and  he  could  not  read  his  manu- 
script, which  had  not  been  learnt  by  heart.  He 
had  to  finish  his  sermon  without  its  aid,  and,  after 
the  first  plunge  and  few  minutes  of  doubt,  found 
the  task  easier  than  he  had  imagined.  Henceforth 
he  trusted  to  memory,  with  a  few  notes,  and  matter 
and  manner  greatly  improved.     He  became  a  live 


xxii  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS   HOLE 

preacher,  felt  his  power  and  persuasion  grow  ;  and, 
in  the  years  of  crowded  Hfe  that  followed,  was  one 
of  the  most  telling  speakers  in  the  Church  of 
England.  From  triflingf  chances,  revolutions  in 
men's  lives  often  seem  to  spring.  But  we  can 
attach  too  much  importance  to  them.  The  revolu- 
tion is  there  and  will  come  about,  if  not  through 
this  incident  then  through  that.  It  would  be 
absurd  to  suppose  that  Hole  would  have  remained 
the  parish  priest  at  Caunton  till  the  end  of  his  life, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  chance  of  the  light  failing 
that  day.      He  was  made  for  other  things. 

Hole  often  referred  to  church  services  and  to 
preaching,  the  old  style  and  the  new,  in  his  books 
and  in  his  addresses  to  working  men  and  others. 
He  would  recall  the  days  when  the  Church  slum- 
bered somewhat  heavily.  In  boyhood  and  early 
youth,  he  never  even  saw  the  man  who  had  charge 
of  the  parish  in  which  he  lived.  The  parson  did 
not  live  in  the  county.  "  A  curate,"  he  said  in  one 
of  his  addresses,  "  had  lodgings  five  miles  away, 
and  came  to  us  once  a  week  for  one  cold,  heartless 
service.  My  memory  recalls  him  as  he  stands, 
with  his  overcoat,  hat,  and  riding-whip  upon  the 
Holy  Table,  asking  the  sexton  whether  there  were 
any  infants  to  be  baptized  (at  home,  of  course,  in  a 
pudding  basin),  or  any  dead  to  be  buried  in  the 
churchyard  which  was  the  village  playground,  and 
where  horses  were  turned   out   to    eraze."      Hole 


A    MEMOIR  xxiii 

came  to  believe  with  Dollinger  that  the  unwritten 
sermon  was  the  only  good  way,  and  twice  only  it 
failed  him.  The  strain  of  travelling  constantly 
from  place  to  place,  and  of  preaching  to  strange, 
sometimes  very  large  and  expectant  congregations, 
when  he  was  fagged  by  a  long  journey,  was  heavy, 
even  for  a  man  of  strong  constitution.  There  is  an 
ordeal  in  such  work  through  which  the  speaker  or 
preacher  whose  pulpit  is  a  fixed  one  scarcely  passes; 
and  notwithstanding  his  strength,  it  is  perhaps  sur- 
prising that  he  should  only  twice  have  failed  for  a 
few  minutes  "in  a  long  working  life.  Once — some- 
where in  Herefordshire — he  came  to  blank  silence 
before  he  had  been  speaking  two  minutes.  He 
said  afterwards  that  it  was  as  if  the  upper  part  of 
his  head  had  suddenly  turned  to  stone.  He  had 
travelled  four  hundred  miles  and  was  weak  from 
want  of  food.  Another  time,  memory  completely 
left  him,  whilst  he  was  speaking  to  a  great  meeting 
of  working  men  at  Leeds.  Unlike  poor  Lowe  on  a 
famous  occasion  in  Parliament,  he  had  not  a  single 
note  to  turn  to.  But  his  fortune  was  kinder  than 
Lowe's.  Dr.  Talbot  gave  the  signal  to  the  organist, 
and,  whilst  a  hymn  was  sung,  Hole  recalled  the 
substance  of  what  he  had  meant  to  say,  and  finished 
his  address. 

As  speaker  and  preacher  he  was  at  his  best 
among  working  men.  He  succeeded  in  North- 
ampton at  a  time  when  feeling  was  very  bitter  there 


xxiv  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

against  the  Church — in  the  early  'eighties  ;  and  in 
those  years  he  aroused  enthusiasm  by  his  addresses 
to  working-class  audiences  in  Nottingham,  Derby, 
and  elsewhere.     "The  finest  speech  I  ever  heard," 
was   Canon   Shuttleworth's  verdict   on  one  of   his 
addresses    at    Nottingham:     "A    finer    conceived 
speech  never  was  spoken  to  a  meeting  of  working 
men,"   wrote  another  who   was    present;    "full  of 
humour    it   was    sure   to    be  —  but    there    was    an 
earnestness    which   one    saw    went    right   home  to 
the  audience.  ...   I  never  was  so  impressed — and 
as  I  walked  away  with  three  of  the  working  men, 
they  gave  expression  to  my  own  thought,  *  If  that 
country    parson    remains   a    country    parson    much 
longer,  it  is  a  disgrace.'"     His  physique  and  voice 
no  doubt   all  told  with   a  workinof-man   audience. 
He    has    been    much    criticised    for   speaking   too 
plainly  in  his  sermons,  but  when  he  meant  to  hit 
he  hit  hard  and  called  a  spade  a  spade — there  was 
no  mistake  about  his  meaning.     A  bargeman  going 
out    after   evening    service   in   the   cathedral   was 
heard  to  say  to  a  friend,  "  I  like  to  hear  that  chap. 
I  can  understand  what  he  says.     He  hits  straight 
from  the  shoulder." 

His  obvious,/^//?  sympathy  must  have  told,  too, 
with  working  men,  and  the  very  human  character 
of  his  speaking  and  preaching.  His  doctrine  of  life 
was  so  broad-minded,  so  clear  of  bigotry  and 
pedantry ;   it  was  so  possible.      His  speeches   and 


A    MEMOIR  XXV 

letters  on  three  social  evils  illustrate  this  well — 
drink,  gambling,  and  horse-racing.  I  shall  quote 
later  a  few  remarks  on  the  first  of  these.  I  find  that 
so  far  back  as  1876  he  had  in  his  thoughts  some 
practical  plans  for  drawing  working  men  away  from 
excessive  drink.  "  I  have  set  my  mind  upon  a 
village  club — a  room  with  papers,  books,  and  games 
to  entice  men  from  sotting  ...  it  is  no  good 
declaiming  against  drunkenness  if  we  do  not  find 
something  in  the  way  of  a  more  wholesome  refresh- 
ment for  the  working  classes."  He  detested 
betting,  and — notably  in  some  correspondence  with 
a  friend,  the  late  Duke  of  Westminster — tried  to 
start  a  practical  crusade  against  it ;  but  he  liked  a 
race-horse  and  never  hesitated  to  say  so  ;  and  he 
wished  even  that  certain  days  could  be  set  apart  on 
which  working  men  could,  if  they  chose,  go  and  see 
a  good  race.  "  It  is  not  the  beautiful  animal  on  four 
legs  that  I  object  to,  but  the  biped,  and  when  the 
course  is  cleared  of  those  who  disgrace  it,  the  first 
person  to  go  to  the  races  will  be  myself"  As  to 
gambling — "  a  foe  most  formidable,  powerful,  subtle, 
cruel,  triumphant " — he  insisted  that  the  reform 
must  come  from  the  "  upper  stratum." 

A  feature  of  these  letters  that  is  so  warm  and 
human  is  the  complete  understanding  and  the 
intimacy  shown  between  Hole  and  various  men 
humbly  placed  in  life.  Canon  Knox- Little  once 
said  at  a  meeting,  "  There  is  no  man  through  the 


xxvi  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

length  and  breadth  of  the  land  who  knows  the 
working  man  half  as  well  as  does  Canon  Hole." 
Such  knowledge  can  come  through  intimacy  alone  ; 
but  it  was  something  more  with  Hole  than  going 
amongst  and  closely  studying  working  men  in  order 
that  he  might  learn  how  to  preach  before  them  with 
effect.  From  very  early  years  he  found  himself  at 
home  and  happy  among  those  who  worked  for  his 
father  at  Caunton  ;  and  the  boy  enthusiasms  for  the 
keeper,  coachman,  gardener,  gardener's  boy,  wood- 
man, bird-scarer,  which  are  common  no  doubt  to 
many  English  lads  brought  up  at  manor  or  hall, 
never  left  him.  University  and  entry  into  the  hard 
world  of  work  and  anxiety  often  make  men  forget 
these  early  associates.  Many  fail  to  keep  up  even 
their  school  and  university  friendships — ties  that 
once  seemed  binding  for  a  lifetime.  The  still 
earlier  friendships  and  enthusiasms,  naive  and  child- 
like, can  have,  ordinarily,  a  slight  chance  of  sur- 
vival. The  world,  its  interests  and  pressing  duties, 
ends  them.  But  Hole's  was  one  of  the  rarer  cases 
where  the  friendships  of  youth  thrive  through  the 
whole  of  a  long  life.  Of  one  of  his  chief  allies  at 
Caunton,  especially,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  speak.  A 
series  of  letters  written  to  Joe  Birley  have  been 
grouped  together  in  this  book.  These  have  been 
chosen  from  a  large  bundle  which  include  letters 
written  from  the  'seventies  continuously  to  the  end. 
Birley  started  as  the  shepherd's  lad  at  Caunton  in 


A    MEMOIR  xxvu 

the  "old  Squire's"  day.  He  was  promoted  to  work 
at  the  Manor,  in  and  out  of  doors.  Quick  with  the 
gun,  a  good  hand  in  most  matters  of  game,  and 
bold  to  mount  any  horse  almost  before  he  was  tall 
enough  to  reach  the  stirrups,  he  was  the  very  lad 
for  such  a  household.  When  the  Caunton  beck 
flows  at  its  ordinary  strength,  you  may  cross  its 
stickles  and  flats  at  most  places  without  wetting 
yourself  above  the  knee,  but  it  is  another  tale  when 
after  great  rains  a  brown  spate  fills  up  the  deep 
narrow  channel,  floods  the  water  meadows,  and 
rushes  down  to  the  Trent.  At  one  flood-time  a 
horse  from  the  Manor-house  stables  was  carried  off 
its  legfs  and  became  entanofled  in  some  wooden 
poles  stretched  across  the  brook.  Many  spectators 
were  free  with  advice,  but  the  horse  must  have 
been  drowned  had  it  not  been  for  young  Birley,  who 
went  into  the  water,  got  it  free  of  the  rails,  and 
succeeded  in  getting  it  somehow  on  its  feet  and  at 
a  spot  where  it  could  be  extricated,  after  being  in 
the  water  two  hours.  Birley  certainly  risked  his 
own  life  in  doing  this,  but  probably  nothing  that  he 
ever  did  at  Caunton  is  better  to  remember.  Hole 
pinned  a  blue  ribbon,  with  a  gold  coin  inside,  on  his 
coat  and  complimented  him  on  his  good  act  before 
the  whole  household. 

I  should  think  that  the  series  of  letters  in  this 
book  to  Birley,  to  James  Blackney,  once  choir-boy 
and  bell-ringer  at  Caunton,  and  now  a  worker  in 


xxviii  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

the  Railway  Clearing  House,  and  to  George  Powell 
of  Derby,  form  together  a  most  uncommon  feature 
in  the  correspondence  of  a  very  hard-worked  public 
man.  All  the  letters  are  in  his  own  handwriting — 
he  was  too  strenuous  a  man  to  want  the  aid  of  a 
secretary. 

The  letters  of  sympathy — actual  sympathy,  suffer- 
ing with — which  Hole  wrote  to  people  beaten  down 
by  the  master  griefs  are  notable.  Several  to  his 
working-men  friends  are  given  in  this  book,  one 
written  to  the  Derby  factory-worker  just  mentioned, 
George  Powell,  being  a  good  example.  Moving 
they  are  for  anybody  who  cares  for  living  words, 
but  the  full  worth  of  such  letters  can  only  be  felt 
when  the  receiver  of  the  letter  has  a  faith  some- 
what answering  to  that  of  the  sender.  This  was 
so  in  the  case  of  Hole  and  his  workman  friend. 
Powell  really  believed.  And  the  faith  of  both  was 
the  faith  of  a  child  in  its  simplicity,  and  yet  the 
faith  of  ripe  manhood  in  strength  and  depth.  Is 
any  form  of  faith  except  this  artless  form  of  much 
avail  against  the  tremendous  wrenches  of  life  when 
these  suddenly  come  upon  intense  natures  ?  A  sort 
of  iron  philosophy  does  instead  in  some  cases ;  if, 
however,  the  anchor  is  to  be  an  anchor  of  faith,  it 
had  best  be  the  faith  not  of  reservations,  hedgings, 
higher  criticisms,  but  of  the  kind  that  steadied  this 
man  Powell.  Coleridge,  with  all  his  probing  and 
subtle    intellect,    was    clearly    persuaded    of    this 


A   MEMOIR  xxix 

Nothing  could  be  simpler  than  the  letter  which 
he  wrote  to  "a  friend  [Charles  Lamb]  in  great 
anguish  of  mind  on  the  sudden  death  of  his 
mother."  In  its  artlessness  and  fervour  it  reminds 
one  of  several  in  this  volume. 

We  cannot  forgfet  Dean  Hole's  Qrift  of  humour  in 
considering  the  causes  of  his  power  and  popularity 
with  working  men. 

"  Ridentem  dicere  verum 
Quid  vetat  ?  " 

Real  wit  being  so  nearly  allied  to  truth,  and  some 
of  the  wisest  men  having  used  it  for  emphasising 
truth,  it  is  strange  that  some  people  should  be  so 
suspicious  of  humour  when  brought  into  serious 
discussion.  The  attitude  of  some  earnest  social 
reformers  because  Hole  used  humour  now  and  then 
in  very  serious  argument  is  an  illustration  of  this. 
The  Church  Congress  of  1892  may  long  be  re- 
membered by  those  who  were  present  for  the 
strong  speech  Hole  made  in  favour  of  moderation 
in  drink  as  against  enforced  teetotalism — for  con- 
viction as  against  constraint — and  I  believe  it  was 
Mr.  Lathbury  who,  in  an  editorial  note  in  the 
Guardia7i,  had  to  defend  himself  for  writing  of  this 
speech  as  "  courageous  and  sensible,"  and  to  point 
out  that  the  speaker  was  misunderstood  largely 
because  he  employed  humour  to  drive  home  his 
argument.     A  man  who  has  a  gift  of  wit,  and  uses 


XXX  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS   HOLE 

it  for  serious  ends,  is  always  in  this  risk  of  mis- 
interpretation by  those  who  suppose  wit  only  exists 
for  frivolous  purposes.  The  campaign  of  humour 
which,  about  the  time  of  this  Church  Congress, 
Hole  carried  on  in  favour  of  a  moderate  and  wise 
use  of  wine  and  beer,  brought  on  him  a  storm  of 
protests.  But  he  was  not  to  be  deterred.  He 
declared  himself  as  hearty  a  lover  of  temperance 
as  the  most  violent  abstainers — but  did  not  propose 
to  "discard  his  raiment  because  some  men  got  into 
debt  with  their  tailors."  At  a  meeting  in  the 
Midlands  he  was  refreshing  himself  at  the  restau- 
rant when  three  friendly  opponents  came  in  and 
ordered  three  cups  of  tea.  "  Well,  I  happened  to 
have  a  bun  in  one  hand  and  a  glass  of  beer  in  the 
other.  It  was  most  excellent  beer,  and  I  think  it 
must  have  been  made  from  Newark  malt.  I  went 
with  the  bun  in  one  hand  and  the  beer  in  the 
other  and  said  to  my  grave  and  reverent  friends, 
*  Thinkest  thou,  because  thou  art  virtuous,  there 
shall  be  no  more  cakes  and  ale?'"  He  said  he 
had  at  the  Deanery  a  drawer  full  of  protests  from 
severe  abstainers  ;  at  last  he  grew  tired  of  reading 
these  letters  and  wrote  to  one  of  his  correspondents, 
"You  must  excuse  brevity,  but  i  cannot  see  why, 
because  you  have  water  on  the  brain,  I  should 
shave  my  head."  As  strongly  set  as  any  man 
could  be  against  real  gambling,  he  yet  aroused 
solemn  protests  because  he  drew  the  line  at  some 


A    MEMOIR  xxxi 

rather  absurd  anti-bazaar  movement.  "  I  am  not 
sanguine,"  he  said  at  the  Church  Congress  in  1890, 
"of  orand  results  from  a  cannonade  against  raffles 
and  bazaars." 

But  if  his  irrepressible  humour  got  him  at  times 
into  disfavour  with  those  who  think  that  wit  in  a 
grave  matter  is  profanity,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
on  the  whole  it  stood  him  in  good  stead  throughout 
his  life.  "  Wit  is  upon  the  sudden  turn,"  says 
Selden  in  one  of  his  essays,  and  at  least  a  small 
volume  might  be  made  of  witty  sayings  of  Hole's 
that  could  not  possibly  have  been  prepared.  Every 
friend  of  his,  many  slight  acquaintances,  can  pro- 
bably recall  some  bon  mot  of  the  kind.  Colonel 
Anstruther  says,  "  I  stayed  at  Rufford  some  years 
ago  with  Hole  and  found  him  one  of  the  most  witty 
and  charming  people  I  ever  met.  I  remember  he 
tripped  on  a  hidden  step  in  the  great  hall  at 
Rufford,  and,  when  I  ran  to  help  him  up  from  a 
very  nasty  fall,  he  said,  '  Bos  procumbit  humi.' " 
Once  he  called  on  Mr.  George  Allen  at  Sunnyside, 
Orpington,  with  some  inquiry  about  Ruskin's  work  : 
"The  Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture,"  which  had 
lately  been  re-published.  As  he  left  the  hall,  he 
struck  smartly  with  his  head  a  hanging  lamp.  The 
last  thing  that,  as  a  rule,  comes  off  a  man's  tongue 
in  a  case  like  this  is  a  witty  remark ;  but  Hole 
instantly  remarked  with  good  humour,  "  If  I  am  not 
careful,  there  will  only  be  Six  Lamps  left." 


xxxii  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

Now  and  then  the  wit  might  spring  from  a  sense 
of  indignation  over  some  mean  deed  or  sight.  One 
day  at  Caunton  Church  during  morning  prayer  a 
member  of  the  congregation  was  distinctly  tipsy ; 
this  man  had  been  at  a  wedding  the  day  before  and 
had  not  slept  off  his  drink.  After  a  while  Hole 
stopped  reading  for  a  few  moments,  and  said 
sternly,  "Are  you  fit  to  remain  in  God's  House?" 
The  man  got  up  as  well  as  he  could  and  with  the 
help  of  James  Blackney  left  the  church.  After 
service,  Hole  said,  "James,  what  did  you  do  with 
him  ? "  The  reply  was,  "  I  put  him  on  a  tomb- 
stone, sir."  With  a  look  of  wrath,  sorrow,  and 
amusement  Hole  exclaimed,  "Couldn't  you  put 
him  under  it?" 

Towards  the  hard-bitten  poacher  he  was  not 
altogether  unsympathetic,  as  a  passage  or  two  in 
his  books  show.  He  recognised  that  a  poacher 
often  has  in  him  something  of  the  sportsman  ;  but 
who  can  be  expected  to  feel  kindly  towards  a 
neighbour  who  slyly  pursues  one's  game  for  mere 
gain,  and  in  an  unneighbourly  spirit  ?  An  amusing 
illustration  of  a  witty  saying  driven  home  with  un- 
common force  occurs  in  this  connection.  He  was 
drivino-  to  Ossingrton  on  an  autumn  mornino^  with  a 
constant  shooting-companion,  when  he  noticed  "  a 
kite  "  being  flown  over  one  of  his  own  fields.  He 
tied  the  horse  to  a  gate  and  walked  to  the  spot 
over  which   the    kite   was    flying.      There,   to    his 


A    MEMOIR  xxxiii 

amazement,  whom  should  he  see  but  a  certain 
"  methody  "  preacher  —  one  of  the  so  -  called 
"  ranters  "  of  that  day — flying  the  kite  whilst  a 
party  were  walking  up  the  birds  close  by.  The 
poacher  had  long  been  a  little  rival  in  spiritual 
matters  of  the  Vicar  of  Caunton,  but  when  in 
difficulties  in  the  village  he  would  not  hesitate  to 
go  to  the  Manor-house  and  beg  for  aid.  The 
sight  of  this  man,  of  all  men,  taking  advantage  of 
Hole's  supposed  absence  from  home  was  more  than 

flesh  and  blood  could  quite  stand.      "C ,  what 

are  you  doing  here  ? "  asked  Hole,  going  up  and 
pointing  to  the  kite  above.  Caught  in  the  act, 
what  was  the  trespasser  to  do  ?  He  grinned  and 
said  no  word.  The  question  was  repeated,  sternly  ; 
and  the  grin  was  repeated,  sickly.  The  trespasser 
stood  in   the   furrow.      Hole  went  up  to   him  and 

said,  "  C ,   you  may  encroach  on  my  spiritual, 

but    I    won't    have    you    on    my  earthly  ground ! " 

And   in   that   instant  C found  himself  on  the 

other  side  of  the  broad  ridge  that  separated  furrow 
from  furrow.  There  the  incident  ended.  For  the 
relations  between  the  two  afterwards,  it  was,  with 
Hole  at  any  rate,  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

A  great  thing  about  Dean  Hole's  wit  was  its 
freedom  from  all  taint  of  malice.  It  was  never 
sardonic.  It  never  stabbed  nor  stung.  Of  a  great 
Parliamentary  wit  it  was  said  that  he  would  not 
suffer  his  friend  to  stand  between  himself  and  his 


xxxiv  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

jest.  How  different  was  it  with  Hole!  Rather 
than  have  wounded  a  friend,  he  would  have  fore- 
gone at  all  times  his  jest.  The  arrows  of  his  wit 
were  unbarbed.  This  care  not  to  lacerate  in  fun 
has  not  been  invariable  even  among  men  with  fine 
qualities  of  heart  as  well  as  of  head  :  Charles  Lamb, 
for  instance,  undoubtedly  gave  pain  at  times  by  his 
humour,  though,  as  Canon  Ainger  says,  he  gener- 
ally was  quick  with  a  salve. 

Hole  had  the  reputation  of  being  an  inveterate 
punster  and  raconteur.  We  only  tolerate  the  pun 
when  it  is  clear  of  all  suspicion  of  being  prepared. 
It  must  in  conversation  have  an  instantaneous 
spring  about  it,  and  be  a  surprise  alike  to  listener 
and  to  speaker.  Even  then  a  sparing  use  has  to 
be  made  of  the  gift,  or  it  grows  intolerable.  The 
man  who  is  always  ready  with  his  play  on  a  name 
or  an  idea  strains  friendship,  and  in  the  end  may 
forfeit  popularity.  Hole,  being  a  wit — which  every 
punster,  however  ingenious,  is  decidedly  not — 
understood  how  to  be  sparing  of  puns.  The  apt 
saying  or  quotation,  then,  and  the  pun — both  flashed 
out  in  the  nick  of  time,  which  in  itself  is  fifty  per 
cent,  of  wit — these  were  the  forms  of  humour  which 
he  excelled  in  :  humour  so  fresh  and  spontaneous 
that  it  never  needed  flavouring,  even  for  jaded 
appetites,  with  a  biting  personality.  But  he  was 
a  famous  hand,  too,  at  another  branch  of  humour — 
the   good    story.      The   story,    unlike    the   pun  or 


A    MEMOIR  XXXV 

retort,  bears  touching-up  and  elaborating,  both  for 
public  speech  and  for  private  converse  ;  and  no 
doubt  w^ith  him,  as  with  other  raconteurs,  stories 
improved  in  his  keeping  and  telling  ;  the  personality 
of  the  teller  is  a  considerable  part  of  the  good  story. 
I  suppose  he  could  hoard  a  good  story  and  chose 
the  right  people  to  tell  it  to.  This  form  of  humour 
never  can  be  spontaneous  as  the  flash  of  wit  is,  but 
there  have  been  noted  humorists  who  have  hoarded 
too  much,  and  told  with  over-elaboration.  There 
was,  for  instance,  a  raconteur  of  Dean  Hole's  day, 
a  famous  editor,  who  actually  kept  a  list  of  his  best 
stories,  and  of  the  friends  and  acquaintance  he  had 
told  this  or  that  story  to.  Once  his  list  played 
him  false,  for  he  told,  as  an  experience  that  had 
lately  been  his  own,  a  certain  anecdote  to  a  party 
of  friends,  several  of  whom  unfortunately  had  heard 
it  before  in  various  forms.  It  convulsed  one  of  the 
listeners,  however,  whose  laughter  grew  painful. 
This  was  more  than  the  story-teller  had  bargained 
for,  and,  when  the  party  was  breaking  up,  he  said 
to  a  friend,  "  I  should  not  have  given  that  experi- 
ence of  mine  had  I  known  it  would  have  had  such 

an  effect  on  B ."     "Oh,  don't  trouble  yourself 

about  that,"  was  the  reply,  "  B ■  always  laughs 

immoderately  when  he  hears  that  story."  With 
the  over-serious,  as  we  have  seen,  Hole's  love  of 
humour  was  not  successful,  but  I  think  he  never 
had  such  a  rebuff  as  that.     Many  of  his  stories  have 


xxxvi  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

appeared  over  and  over  again  in  a  score  of  papers 
within  the  last  few  years,  such  as  that  of  the  green 
young  curate  in  a  sporting  district  who  asked  the 
prayers  of  the  congregation  for  Lucy  Grey — not 
knowing  she  was  a  race-horse — or  as  that  of  the 
very  stout  clergyman  at  the  City  dinner,  who  inno- 
cently spoke  of  his  attachment  to  "this  vast  cor- 
poration " ;  and  it  is  too  clear  from  these  later 
editions  in  print  that  the  goodness  of  a  story  often 
depends  greatly  on  the  teller  ;  or  perhaps  it  is  the 
same  as  with  choice  wines,  the  aroma  of  which, 
once  escaping,  is  so  soon  gone  for  ever.  But  there 
is  one  story  that  may  be  recalled  here,  as  it  relates 
to  village  life  in  Caunton,  and  is  referred  to  in  a 
letter  to  Dr.  John  Brown,  the  author  of  "  Rab  and 
His  Friends."  One  morning  Hole  went  to  Caunton 
school  to  catechise  the  children.  The  Diocesan 
inspector  was  coming.  When  the  children  were 
all  assembled,  Hole  asked,  "  Why  were  Adam  and 
Eve  turned  out  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  ? "  For 
some  time  no  child  gave  any  sign  of  replying. 
But  at  length  a  little  boy,  who  was  noted  for  often 
being  ready  with  an  answer  before  the  other  chil- 
dren, held  up  his  hand.  "  Ah,"  said  the  questioner, 
"  I'm  glad  you  know,  Johnny  Brown,  but  don't 
answer  just  at  present — perhaps  some  other  little 
boy  or  girl  will  remember  too."  He  waited  awhile, 
Johnny  Brown  eager  with  outstretched  hand. 
"Well,"  said  Hole,   "I  am  glad  there  is  one  little 


A    MEMOIR  xxxvii 

boy  here  at  any  rate  who  can  answer  the  question  ; 
now  tell  the  whole  school,  Johnny."  "  Please  sir," 
said  Johnny,  "you've  got  a  dutty  weskitt."  Dr. 
John  Brown,  hearing  of  his  Caunton  namesake's 
reply,  sent  him  a  tip.  A  correspondent  who  has 
reminded  me  of  the  incident  thinks  that  the  little 
boy's  answer  referred  to  some  clay  which  Hole 
had  omitted  to  brush  off  after  hard  gardening  in 
the  rosary  at  the  Manor ;  and  he  adds  that  Dr. 
John  Brown  thought  the  answer  the  very  best  that 
could  have  been  given  to  the  question.  But  I  am 
told  this  unconscious  embellishment,  though  pretty 
and  appropriate,  is  not  founded  on  hard  fact.  A 
little  egg-yolk  had  trickled  during  breakfast  on  to 
Hole's  "weskitt"  and  dried  there;  it  was  this 
made  Johnny  stretch  out  his  arm. 

We  speak  about  some  men  having  the  "genius 
for  friendship."  There  really  does  seem  to  be 
something  comparable  with  genius  in  the  way  in 
which  they  make,  without  labouring  to  make,  a 
great  circle  of  friends  among  people  of  all  kinds 
and  temperament,  and  inspire  affection  and  loyalty. 
Perhaps  the  explanation  is  simply  that  they  have 
abounding  and  quick  sympathy,  and  the  natural 
tact — the  tact  of  the  heart  more  than  of  the  head — 
that  makes  for  friendship  everywhere.  Dean  Hole 
had  this  genius  for  friendship.  It  is  shown  through 
the  letters  of  his  friends  to  him,  as  well  as  in  his 
own  letters  to  his  friends.     Days  must  have  been 


xxxviii  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

taken  in  answering  the  shower  of  letters,  for  in- 
stance, which  poured  upon  him  at  the  news  that 
he  had  been  appointed  to  Rochester.  The  absence 
of  formality  in  a  large  number  of  these  messages 
of  congratulation  is  a  delightful  thing.  "  How  I 
should  like  to  see  you  in  a  shovel  hat  and  gaiters ! " 
exclaims  one  friend.  "  I  hope  he  will  make  a 
good  Dean,  and  behave  as  Deans  should,"  writes 
another.  "  I  know  the  man  by  sight,  and  consider 
that  he  will  look  well  in  a  cope.  He  will  take  a 
big  one. 

"  There  once  was  a  Dean  of  Rochester 
Who  measured  four  feet  round  the  chest,  sir, 
He  said  mass  in  red 
With  a  thing  on  his  head. 
That  rituahst  Dean  of  Rochester." 

"What  a  change  for  you,  and  what  a  change  for 
Rochester,"  says  a  third — Sir  George  Grove — "to 
have  a  Dean  who  is  perpetually  telling  good  stories 
— whether  in  the  original  form  or  not,  no  matter — 
and  overflowing  with  perennial  and  most  undecanal 
liveliness.  I  am  sure  it  will  be  a  very  good  thing 
for  the  town — and  for  you,  why,  it  will  give  you 
an  opportunity  of  getting  up  the  Kent  dialect,  and 
speaking  it  as  perfectly  as  you  do  that  of  other 
shires."  But  mingled  with  the  chaff  in  these  and 
many  other  letters  from  churchmen  and  laymen  of 
all  kinds,  there  is  invariably  a  graver  note  of  thank- 
fulness.    Even  Archdeacon  Denison  in  the    midst 


A   MEMOIR  xxxix 

of  a  campaign  against  the  Lower  House  of  Convo- 
cation "  gone  mad,"  as  he  declared  it,  "  in  meddHng 
and  muddHng  the  Prayer-Book  without  a  grain  of 
authority,"  could  turn  aside  for  a  moment  to  record 
his  pleasure.  There  was  something  in  Hole's  play 
as  in  his  work,  in  his  gay  moods  as  in  his  grave, 
that  was  always  kindling  friendship.  Many  of  his 
friends  only  knew  him  through  his  books,  which, 
like  Izaak  Walton's,  mirrored  his  own  disposition. 
He  often  had  letters  from  strangers,  who,  reading 
these  books,  felt  they  had  made  a  new  friend. 
Two  out  of  a  good  many  I  have  seen  may  be 
touched  on  as  illustrating  this.  One  came  towards 
the  close  of  his  life  from  a  dissenting  minister  in  the 
Far  East,  warmly  thanking  him  for  one  of  his  books. 
Perhaps  few  letters  of  praise  in  his  life  touched  him 
more  than  such  a  one  as  that.  Hole  had  many 
admirers  among  Nonconformists.  No  doubt  in 
early  years  at  Caunton  there  was  strong  feeling  at 
times  between  Church  and  Nonconformity  ;  I  be- 
lieve two  of  the  leading  men  in  Primitive  Methodism 
were  formerly  connected  with  the  place ;  but  it  left 
no  lasting  bitterness.  Would  bigotry  be  imagin- 
able, were  workers  like  Charles  Kingsley  and 
Reynolds  Hole  general  ?  The  other  letter  referred 
to  came  from  the  late  Dr.  Haig  Brown  of  Charter- 
house. "  I  have  just  finished  the  reading  of  your 
charming  volume  ('  Then  and  Now  '),  and  gratitude 
constrains  me  to  offer  you  thanks  for  the  pleasure 


xl  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

you  have  given  me.  You  will,  I  trust,  pardon  this 
expression  of  feeling  from  one  who  is  unknown  to 
you,  but  has  held  communion  with  you  not  only  in 
this  but  in  your  other  books."  I  thought  that  Dr. 
Alexander,  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  was  an 
undergraduate  with  Hole  at  Balliol  in  the  'forties ; 
but  the  Archbishop  told  me  that  he  took  his  degree 
from  Exeter,  and  was  only  put  on  the  B.N.C. 
books  later.  "  How  I  wish  I  had  known  Dean 
Hole,"  he  writes;  "his  whole  character,  his  wit,  his 
eloquence,  his  passionate  love  of  natural  beauty,  his 
spiritual  elevation,  must  have  made  him  one  of  the 
most  charming  of  men ! "  There  are  men,  who, 
apart  from  their  work,  through  personality  alone — 
through  the  effect  it  has  on  strangers  as  on  friends 
— leave  the  world  a  little  brighter  than  they  found 
it.  Finely  Mr.  G.  W.  E.  Russell  says  of  Matthew 
Arnold  in  the  collection  of  Arnold  letters,  which  is 
now  an  English  classic,  that  to  have  known  him 
and  to  have  had  a  place  in  his  regard,  is  "  part  of 
our  lives'  unalterable  good."  But  now  and  again 
comes  one  whose  strong  personality,  irradiating, 
serves  to  light  the  world  a  little  for  the  stranger  as 
well  as  for  his  own  circle.  Kingsley's  notably  was 
one  of  these  helpful  personalities,  and  I  think  that 
Hole's  was  another.  I  cannot  better  end  these  notes 
on  how,  in  later  life,  his  noble,  open  nature  appealed 
to  men  than  by  giving  Bishop  Talbot's  words  for 
the  Diocesan  Chro7iicle :  "It   was   not   one  of  the 


A    MEMOIR  xli 

smallest  happinesses  of  my  Episcopate  to  find  him 
as  Dean  of  the   Cathedral,  to  come  at   once   into 
close  relations  with  his  noble  and  generous  nature, 
and  to  associate  the  hospitality  of  the  Deanery  with 
most  of  my  recollections  of  days  in  Rochester.     He 
received  me  from  the  first  with  a  delightful  cordi- 
ality just   touched    with    the   something   more    by 
which  an  older  man  shows  his  respect  for  the  office 
which  his  junior  holds.      It  is   difficult  to  convey 
just  that   impression  of   '  distinction '  or  nobleness 
which  was  exactly  what  no  one  could  help  receiving 
from  his  presence.     But  it  would  have  been  difficult 
— and    disagreeable — to   bring   anything   mean,   or 
unchivalrous,   or   unworthy,  into   his  presence.     It 
has  been  said,  I  think,  that  in  most  of  the  men  who 
attract  us  most  there  is  still  something  of  the  boy. 
How  true  this  was  of  the  Dean  !     Quick,  impulsive, 
ready  to  kindle  up,  and  as  ready  to  forgive,  with  an 
unbounded  relish  for  life  and  for  its  humours  and 
sympathy  with  its  light  and  shade — that  was  the 
boyishness  of  him,  and  it  wielded  its  instrument  in 
the  quick-flashing  wit  which  sometimes  took  form 
in  anecdote,  and  sometimes  flitted  by  in  the  turn  of 
a  phrase,  or  a  half-noticed  word.      But  there  were 
deeper  things  than  these.      He  was  a  fine  example 
of  the   Christian   gentleman,    but   he    had   besides 
the  heart  of  the  pastor  and  the  evangelist.     The 
things  of  his  Master  were  first,  unquestionably  first, 
with  him,  and  therewith  the  desire,  the  eager  and 


xlii  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

constraining   desire,  to  make  those  things    known 
to  his  fellow-men.      He  wanted  them  to  share  ;  he 
wanted  them  to  understand  that  they  might  share. 
He  had  found  there  the  sanction  of  all  goodness 
in  man,  the  witness  of  the  goodness  of  God.     The 
Gospel  of  Jesus  had  given  to  him  *  love,  joy,  and 
peace.'     Here,  too,   he  was  as  a  little  child.      His 
heart  and  conscience  wholly  answered  to  the  gift  of 
God.      He  had  no  doubts  about  it ;   he  could  not 
find  room  for  anything  more  critical  than   simple 
acceptance.     He  wanted  others  to  do  the  same,  to 
know  how  simple  it  was,  and  how  human,  though 
so  divine,  not  to  fancy  that  it  was  something  remote 
from  them,  or  strained,  or  difficult.     So  the  grave, 
beautiful  words  were  always  at  hand  in  close  neigh- 
bourhood to  the  fun,  and  the  sympathy  with  the 
moment's  topic.     And  in  the  pulpit  they  spoke  out 
with  a  fervour  which  was  the  more  free  and  forcible 
because  it  had  evidently  compelled  into  its  service, 
in  the  careful  hours  of  preparation,  the  resources  of 
his  rich  memory  and  reading  and  experience.     God 
bless    him !    and    may   many  who   have   heard   his 
words  and  seen  the  witness  of  his  example,  show 
the  fruit  of  them  in  the  coming  days !     It  has  been 
said  that  there  are  always  two  types  of  Christian 
life  and  character,  the  genial  and  the  severe.     Such 
a  life  as  his    will  have   had    its   secret    things   of 
self-discipline  and   self-control,   as   in   its  last  days 
it   shone   with    quiet,  grateful    patience.      But   his 


A   MEMOIR  xliii 

memory  will  remain  with  us  abidingly  as  one  of 
the  happiest  instances  of  the  genial  character, 
touched  and  sweetened  by  the  life  of  the  Spirit." 

No  sketch  of  Dean  Hole,  however  slight,  can 
fail  to  touch  on  his  early  life  at  Caunton,  his  field 
sports  and  his  gardening.  It  is  nearly  twenty  years 
since  he  left  Caunton  for  Rochester— and  twenty 
years,  how  often  "  it  cuts  all  meaning  from  a  name  !  " 
Yet,  though  many  of  his  old  friends  have  dis- 
appeared from  the  village,  it  must  still  be  fresh 
enough  in  some  memories  how  his  aid  and  advice, 
as  squire  and  pastor,  would  be  sought  by  all  and 
sundry.  There  is  a  suggestion  of  the  Vicar  of 
Wakefield  about  the  way  in  which  he  would  cater 
for  old  and  young  alike  in  many  little  things,  though 
at  times  I  daresay  he  would  be  more  in  a  mood 
then,  as  in  the  larger  life  outside,  to  wield  Burchell's 
big  stick  when  a  wanton  ill-doer  was  detected. 
There  is  the  flourish  of  a  big  stick  now  and  again 
in  his  letters,  where  he  has  to  speak  of  a  rascal 
or  a  snob.  There  is  a  letter  of  his  I  have  seen — 
written  when  he  was  quite  eighty — in  which  he 
chafes  at  his  inability  to  turn  his  garden  hose  on 
the  roughs  and  rowdies  who  broke  up  one  of  Mr. 
Chamberlain's  meetings.  But  he  had  a  charity 
towards  the  trifling  flaws.  "  Many  of  his  kind 
actions  to  the  old  folk,"  Birley  writes,  "  can,  I 
fear,  never  be  adequately  expressed.     For  instance, 


xliv  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

Mary,  one  old  woman,  to  get  material  aid,  was 
always  in  a  pious  mood  when  he  was  on  his 
rounds.  Especially  if  she  had  the  misfortune  to 
break  a  vessel,  she  would  be  invoking  and  thank- 
ing the  Lord  for  His  goodness,  until  she  had  got 
perhaps  double  the  cost,  whilst  Nancy  would  go 
to  church  in  her  pattens,  so  that  she  could  get 
a  new  pair  of  boots  ;  she  well  knew  the  pattens 
would  draw  forth  the  needful.  I  really  think  he 
used  to  appreciate  their  little  tricks,  for  his  face 
would  brighten  when  he  gave  the  money.  His 
pockets  often  contained  packets  of  tea,  stockings, 
mufflers,  and  a  bit  of  tobacco  for  the  old  men  ;  and 
for  the  sick  folk  it  was  rabbit  here  and  rabbit 
there,  soup,  jellies,  grapes,  or  wine.  In  fact  he  was 
always  doing  a  kindness  among  them.  I  can  well 
remember  that,  when  I  was  a  child  with  measles, 
he  walked  in  with  the  'cowslip  wine'  for  'Joe.' 
That  was  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and  many 
were  the  mornings  I  had  my  breakfast  with  him 
and  the  dear  old  Squire  in  the  early  'fifties  ;  and 
when  I  look  back  on  those  happy  days  and  onwards, 
I  know  that  better  friend  could  not  possibly  be  than 
he  was  to  me."  As  Birley  suggests,  Hole  no 
doubt  saw  through,  and  was  tickled  by,  the  harm- 
less tricks  of  a  villager  now  and  again  to  win  his 
charity  or  sympathy.  He  was  not,  however,  I 
should  say,  quite  easy  to  impose  on  when  he  had 
a  mind  the  other  way.     Once  a  well-known  poacher 


A    MEMOIR  xlv 

of  the  village  waited  near  the  church,  and,  on  Hole 
passing,  pleaded,  "  Look  here,  sir ;  see  what  your 
keeper  have  done  to  my  dog  !  "  Dog,  like  master, 
was  a  professional  poacher,  and  bore  clear  sign  of 
a  recent  peppering.  Hole  said  to  the  poacher, 
whose  character  he  knew  well  :  "  Yes,  Tom,  I  see  ; 
but  I  don't  quite  know  what  I  can  do  for  you, 
unless  this" — taking  from  his  pocket  a  penknife — 
"is  of  any  use  to  you  for  picking  out  the  shot." 

The  Dean  Hole  of  public  fame  is  before  all 
things  rose-grower ;  but  doubtless  he  knew  the 
good  points  of  the  horse  ere  he  knew  those  of  the 
rose.  It  may  be  said  he  was  born  a  sportsman. 
It  was  in  the  bone  with  him.  The  first  of  his 
letters  in  this  book — the  earliest  we  can  find — is 
an  earnest  plea  for  the  chase ;  and  his  interest  in 
hound  and  hunter  was  lively  to  the  end.  Caunton 
in  Samuel  Hole's — his  father's — day  was  a  house 
of  sport.  The  spirit  of  sport  fired,  more  or  less, 
everybody  about  the  place,  and  there  are  still 
people  with  an  affectionate  memory  or  two  of  the 
stirring  days  there,  the  bustle  of  fox-hunting  or 
partridge-shooting  mornings,  in  the  "  old  Squire's  " 
reign.  Old  Samuel  Hole,  it  is  no  secret  in 
Caunton,  believed  in  another  English  practice 
besides  that  of  horsemanship — and  he  had  about 
him  one  or  two  retainers  who  decidedly  under- 
stood the  "  noble  art  of  self-defence."  From  what 
I    have  heard,   they    did   not  always  strictly  limit 


xlvi  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

themselves  to  self-defence,  however.  There  are 
stories  floating  about  Caunton  which  point  another 
way.  For  instance,  W ,  the  "handy"  coach- 
man at  Caunton  in  the  old  Squire's  days,  was 
notorious  for  his  tiffs  that  would  end  in  hard 
knocks.  Dean  Hole  spoke  to  this  man  sternly 
more  than  once  about  his  love  of  fighting,  but 
found   him   incurable.     Whenever  he   drove   Hole 

to  any  place  which  necessitated  a  long  wait,  W 

insisted  on  giving  the  inhabitants  a  taste  of  his 
prowess.  After  a  day's  covert-shooting,  he  turned 
up  at  the  rendezvous  with  one  eye  entirely  in 
retreat,  and  Hole,  as  he  drove  off,  was  of  course 
bantered  by  his  host  and  the  other  guns  for 
encouraging  muscular  Christianity  in  his  people. 
Hole  relieved  his  feelings  on  the  journey  home  by 

discharging   W .     Then    W attempted    a 

defence.  "  I  took  no  notice  of  a  party  as  insulted 
me,  sir,  in  the  public,  well  knowing  your  views  ; 
but  when  he  altered  his  note  and  began  abusin' 
you,  sir,  I  felt  as  you'd  have  wished  me  to  take 
your  part,  sir."  "Disgusting!"  exclaimed  Hole 
warmly — "  I    hope    they   separated    you."       "  Beg 

pardon,    sir,"    said    W .        "  Well  " — testily — 

"What  is  it?"  "Beg  pardon,  sir,  but  'e  didn't 
want  no  separatin',  sir !  "  And — says  the  teller  of 
the  story — the  closed  eye  flickered  for  one  in- 
stant like  a  gleam  of  sun  through  a  bank  of  purple 
cloud. 


A   MEMOIR  xlvii 

These,  however,  were  little  passing  incidents 
common  to  a  somewhat  harder  day  than  the  present 
in  homes  of  vigorous  sport.  Field  pursuits  were 
the  great  thing  at  the  Manor  when  Hole  was  a 
young  man  fresh  from  college,  and  were  followed 
with  zest.  In  one  of  his  earlier  books — "  Nice 
and  Her  Neighbours  " — he  has  given  us  a  delight- 
ful glimpse  of  a  scene  or  two,  at  the  close  of  the 
hunting  season,  when  his  father's  hunters  were 
summered  :  "  When  the  grass  was  growing  and  the 
air  was  warmer,  in  May,  they  were  led  forth,  two 
by  John  Ward,  master  of  the  horse,  and  two 
by  Tim  Chappell,  equerry-in-waiting,  to  a  large 
pasture  of  abundant  herbage  on  the  banks  of  the 
silver  Trent.  Then  the  old  exercising-bridles 
were  quietly  slipped  off,  John  gave  his  favourite, 
Benedict,  a  farewell  pat ;  for  a  few  seconds  the 
steeds  stood  motionless,  and  then,  as  they  realised 
their  freedom,  rearing  and  kicking,  with  wild 
whinnies  of  delight,  they  galloped  off  at  speed, 
as  if  a  fox  had  gone  away."  And  he  could  recall 
the  careful  putting  by  against  next  season  of  the 
hunting-clothes — "  the  buckskins  and  cords  laid 
to  rest  in  their  drawers  of  mahogany  with  embalm- 
ments of  lavender  in  muslin  bags  and  the  snow- 
white  tops "  in  a  rack  hard  by.  Who  that  has 
spent  his  early  years  in  a  sporting  home  easily 
forgets  such  little  scenes  and  touches  that  relate 
to  gun   or  saddle   or   fishing-rod  ?      Hole  touches 


xlviii  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

on  his  fox-hunting  days  in  several  of  his  books, 
as  well  as  in  various  letters  in  this  collection.  The 
sound  of  the  horn  and  the  sight  of  the  red  coats — 
then  so  numerous — among  the  old  oaks  of  Rufford 
when  Jack  Davis  was  huntsman,  were  never  for- 
gotten. Once  after  his  appointment  to  Rochester 
he  said  to  Davis,  "You  see,  Jack,  I  am  still  keep- 
ing my  breeches — I'm  going  to  wear  gaiters 
instead  of  tops.^ 

Among  the  letters  are  several  allusions  to  shoot- 
ing, whilst  I  find  other  allusions  in  letters  which  we 
have  not  included  in  the  collection.  There  is  a 
characteristic  touch  in  one  letter  that  has  been 
shown  me.  "  We  had  a  grand  day  at  Worksop 
[September  4,  1895]  on  the  dedication  of  St. 
Cuthbert's  College.  ...  I  wish  you  could  have 
seen  our  turn-out  from  the  Abbey — a  carriage  and 
four  with  postillions,  and  a  four-in-hand  drag. 
Nevertheless  old  Paddy  and  Tim  Chappell  bring- 
ing the  luncheon  up  Moor  Lane  was  a  more 
beautiful  procession."  This  is  a  memory  of  the 
old  shooting  days  at  Caunton.  Moor  Lane  led  to 
some  of  the  partridge  fields  and  pheasant  coverts 
where  game  was  so  keenly  followed  in  those  times. 
Hole,  with  an  endurance  of  body  great  as  his  will 
strength,    would   walk    the    fallows    and    the    high 

1  I  have  heard  a  story  that  Hole,  when  Vicar  of  Caunton,  used  to 
hunt  in  a  red  coat,  but  abandoned  it  because  "  t'  Bishop  wouldn't  let 
him  wear  it."     It  is  pure  myth. 


A   MEMOIR  xlix 

stubbles — the  corn  was  sickle-cut  then — through- 
out the  day  in  any  weather ;  and  those  who  have 
been  out  for  part  of  a  burning  September  day  in 
modern  and  much  easier  conditions — in  the  first 
grilling  days  of  September  1899,  for  instance — 
can  tell  how  hard  the  work  is  in  the  blaze  of 
early  afternoon.  But  I  wonder  what  Moor  Lane 
would  be  like  after  heavy  rains.  In  the  past 
spring  Mr.  Hugh  Hole  took  me  a  few  hundred 
yards  up  the  lane  after  some  moderate  rains,  and 
I  realised  fully  the  weight  and  the  sticking  power 
of  these  Nottingham  clays.  The  clay  one  walks 
over  in  Hampshire  partridge-shooting  or  rabbiting 
seems  to  belong  to  quite  a  different  class  of  matter. 
What  with  the  high  stubbles,  and  the  deep,  sticky 
clays  and  the  walking  all  day,  save  for  the  lunch 
interval — for  they  shot  over  pointers  in  those  days, 
and  driving  was  unknown — partridge-shooting  must 
have  been  something  like  exercise  in  the  open  air. 

A  visit  to  Caunton  for  the  first  time  by  any  one 
who  cares  for  the  things  that  Hole  cared  for  is 
delightful.  There  is  little — there  is  nothing  per- 
haps of  the  more  typical  Midland  scenery  about 
the  village  or  the  land  on  which  the  Manor-house 
itself  is  set.  Some  of  the  best  sporting  country,  at 
any  rate  fox-hunting  country,  of  the  Midlands  is 
certainly  flat,  one  acre  very  like  another  acre ;  fat 
pastures  everywhere,  with  hedgerows  of  elms,  elms, 

elms.     Nor  are  the  rivers  clear  or  lively  in  their 

d 


1  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS   HOLE 

flow  compared  with  the  chalk  streams  of  Hamp- 
shire or  the  moorland  streams  of  Devon.  It  is  the 
prose  of  English  landscape ;  prose  with  rare  man- 
making,  Empire-making  qualities.  One  who  visits 
Caunton  for  the  first  time,  travelling  thither,  say, 
from  the  south,  by  Peterborough  and  Grantham, 
may  expect  to  find  a  village  set  in  the  usual,  almost 
fen-flat  land  through  which  the  train  brings  him. 
But  Newark  left  behind,  and  the  Trent  crossed  at 
Kelham  Bridge,  where  the  Scotch  gave  up  King 
Charles,  it  is  quite  another  story.  Here  is  at  once 
a  shooting  country,  and  yet  a  hunting  country  ;  hill 
and  hollow,  pasture  and  arable  land  ;  fences  are 
here  in  plenty,  but  an  absence  of  that  monstrous 
barbed  wire  and  that — to  the  eye — hardly  less 
aggressive  twisted  wire,  vibrant  and  threaded 
through  iron  rails,  a  thing  we  expect  to  see  about 
the  gloomy  rhubarb  and  cabbage  fields  just  outside 
London  and  other  great  towns,  but  one  that  robs 
the  country  of  country  feeling.  Caunton  has  its 
beck  too  —  "the  Caunton  Beck" — an  undoubted 
trout  stream,  though  it  feeds  the  great  river  of 
coarse  fish  ;  its  high  banks  are  willowed  all  along 
the  Manor  length  of  water  ;  there  are  little  pools  at 
each  sharp  twist,  the  very  spots  to  hold  a  fat  trout ; 
and  above  the  Manor  length,  in  the  Beesthorpe 
Park  that  Capability  Brown  laid  out,  the  beck  is 
beautifully  and  densely  wooded.  It  is  simple  to 
understand  what  a  hold  this  pretty  little  bit  of  quiet 


A   MEMOIR  li 

English  countryside  would  have  on  a  man  like 
Dean  Hole.  I  saw  it  this  year  in  April  with^i 
everything  growing  into  green  or  flower,  and  felt 
how  these  little  hills  preach  peace.  But  if  to  a 
stranger  the  place  makes  such  appeal,  how  much 
more  to  an  intimate  whose  family  has  been  bound  up 
with  the  fortunes  of  the  village  and  the  Manor  for 
ge'nerations  without  a  break  ?  There  was  a  Hugh 
Hole  vicar  of  Caunton  in  1567,  as  a  brass  in  the 
church  tells  us ;  and  a  Hugh  Hole  is  there  to-day. 
It  must  be  an  incurious  and  unimaginative  mind 
which  is  not  interested  in  a  fact  like  this.  There 
may  be  false  pride  in  birth  and  pedigree ;  and  rank 
may  often  be  but  the  guinea's  stamp ;  but  there 
would  be  surely  something  wanting  or  careless  at 
least  about  a  mind  wholly  untouched  by  such  con- 
sideration. A  man  who  could  say,  "  My  father  ruled 
here  and  my  grandfather  and  generations  before 
him,"  and  yet  not  care  for  the  spot  any  better  for 
this,  would  not  be  in  the  right  way.  It  is  pleasant 
to  find  a  Hole  once  more  after  a  lapse  of  some 
years  settled  at  Caunton  Manor.  Glimpses  of  this 
snug  place  we  get  in  several  of  Dean  Hole's  own 
books,  though  it  is  not  always  named  ;  and  one  can 
understand  his  large  affection  for  it  and  the  re- 
freshment he  must  have  got  out  of  it,  coming 
hither  for  a  short  holiday  in  the  later  and  harder 
worked  years  of  his  life.  The  compact  little  farms, 
the  beck  running  at  the  end  of  the  kitchen  garden, 


Hi  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

the  paddock  for  horse  exercise,  the  plantations 
about  the  house,  the  house  and  the  church,  in  true 
manor  fashion  within  a  few  steps  of  each  other, 
and  the  exquisite  flower  and  rose  garden — these 
together  do  make  a  very  EngHsh  scene.  The 
sense  of  oldness  yet  the  sense  of  freshness  all 
about ! 

In  a  speech  in  1899  Dean  Hole  spoke  about 
himself  as  a  beginner  in  gardening  "  seventy-six 
years  ago."  Almost  generations  before  gardening 
became  a  popular  pursuit  in  England,  Hole  was 
gardener.  The  garden  is  rarely  absent  for  any 
time  from  his  correspondence.  Not  only  in  his 
letters  to  friends,  but  in  their  letters  to  him, 
flowers,  especially  roses,  are  constantly  appearing  ; 
and  this  though  the  chief  subject  of  the  letter 
may  have  nothing  to  do  with  gardening.  Bishop 
Thorold,  Dean  Bradley,  George  Mackarness  — 
Bishop  of  Argyle  and  the  Isles  —  John  Leech, 
Alfred  Tennyson,  these  among  many  others  spoke 
somehow  of  gardening  in  their  letters  to  Hole. 
Mackarness  likened  him  at  Caunton  to  a  flower 
in  a  pot  too  small  for  it.  In  1870  Tennyson  wrote 
welcoming  *'  A  Book  about  Roses "  :  "I  do  not 
worship  the  yellow  but  the  rosy  ones — rosy  means 
red  not  yellow — and  the  homage  of  my  youth  was 
given  to  what  I  must  ever  look  up  to  as  the  Queen 
of  Roses — the  Provence — but  then  you  as  a  great 
rose-master  may  not  agree  with  me.     I   never  see 


A    MEMOIR  liii 

my  Queen  of  Roses  anywhere  now.  We  have  just 
been  planting  a  garden  of  roses  and  were  glad  to 
find  that  out  of  our  native  wit  we  had  associated 
the  berberis  with  them  as  you  advise."  "  A  Book 
about  Roses"  was  first  published  in  1869.  The 
author  might  have  said  of  it  as  Walton  said  of 
"  The  Compleat  Angler,"  "  In  writing  of  it  I  have 
made  myself  a  recreation  of  a  recreation ;  and  that 
it  might  not  read  dull  and  tediously  I  have  in  several 
places  mixt  some  innocent  harmless  mirth  ;  of 
which,  if  thou  be  a  severe,  sowre  complexion'd 
man,  then  I  here  disallow  thee  to  be  a  competent 
judge."  And,  as  Walton  said,  so  Hole  might  have 
said,  "  The  whole  discourse  is  a  picture  of  my  own 
disposition."  "  A  Book  about  Roses "  is  truly  a 
picture  of  his  disposition.  Sun  and  breeze  play 
through  it  as  they  played  through  him.  It  sparkles 
with  joy,  a  joy  quite  infectious.  One  dips  into  it 
over  and  over  again,  to  find  poesy  and  pun  and 
practice  so  winningly  blent.  But  perhaps  the  author 
did  not  know  how  good  it  was.  At  any  rate  I 
recall  a  remark  of  his  to  me  about  another  book 
for  which  he  had  a  fancy.  He  wondered  how  it  had 
sold,  and  hearing  that  its  sales  were  (unlike  those 
of  his  own  book)  not  large,  he  said,  "  I  can  under- 
stand that — it  is  a  book  too  good  for  the  many." 

One  of  the  last  papers  which  Dean  Hole  touched 
was  a  list  he  was  making  of  the  roses  in  the 
Deanery  Garden  at  Rochester  the   year   he  died. 


liv  SAMUEL   REYNOLDS    HOLE 

It  included  about  135  varieties,  and  it  is  curious 
to  compare  this  list  with  a  list  of  roses  grown  at 
Caunton  by  himself  in  1851.  The  Caunton  list 
included  1027  rose  bushes  of  434  varieties,  but 
the  great  majority  of  the  names  of  the  roses  are 
quite  unknown  to  a  rosarian  of  to-day.  Hundreds 
of  them  have  long  been  obsolete,  and  only  a  name 
here  and  there  on  the  Caunton  list  is  familiar 
to-day,  such  as  Devoniensis.  The  list  does  not 
include  Glgire  de  Dijon  or  Marechal  Niel ;  I  doubt 
— though  I  have  not  checked  the  two  lists  carefully 
— whether  it  contains  a  single  rose  given  in  the 
Dean's  selection  of  best  all-round  roses  printed  at 
the  end  of  this  book. 

The  chief  date  in  his  life  as  gardener  is  un- 
doubtedly July  I,  1858.  It  was  then  that  his  first 
grand  National  Rose  Show  was  held  at  St.  James's 
Hall.  Hole  was  honorary  secretary  and  promoter, 
and  his  three  chief  helpers  were  Thomas  Rivers, 
Charles  Turner,  and  William  Paul.  How  he 
brimmed  and  bubbled  over  with  enthusiasm  the 
delightful  letter  to  Thomas  Rivers  given  in  this 
book  shows. 

These  notes  amount  to  a  personal  impression 
and  no  more  :  I  quite  know  their  slightness. 
Many  of  his  intimates,  if  they  accept  my  outlines, 
will  be  able  to  add  touches  of  their  own  and  so 
make  the  sketch  a  little  less  imperfect. 


A   MEMOIR  Iv 

His  life  gives  good  proof  that  it  is  possible, 
though  it  be  rare,  to  be  of  the  world,  and  yet  un- 
spotted by  the  world.  His  life  was — and  is — a 
lesson  in  faith,  kindness,  and  simplicity.  There  are 
two  passages  that  have  come  to  my  mind  lately 
whilst  I  have  been  reading  the  letters ;  the  one  so 
fitting  to  the  benign  side  of  him — 

"  He  prayeth  best,  who  loveth  best 
All  things  both  great  and  small, 
For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us, 
He  made  and  loveth  all." 

And  the  other  to  his  splendid  manhood — 

"  The  elements 
So  mixed  in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up 
And  say  to  all  the  world  this  m^as  a  man." 

GEORGE   A.   B.   DEWAR. 


[In  choosing  the  Letters  and  writing  the  Memoir  the  Editor 
has  had  the  kind  and  constant  aid  of  Mrs.  Hole.  He  could  not 
have  done  his  part  of  the  work  without  her  quiet  advice  and  help.^ 


A    CHRONOLOGY 

1819.  December  5.     Born  at  Liverpool. 

1844.  Graduated  B.A.  of  Brasenose  College,  Oxford. 

1844.  Ordained    deacon    and    appointed    curate    at 

Caunton,  Notts. 

1845.  Ordained  priest. 
1850.  Vicar  of  Caunton. 

1858.  His    first    book,  "A    Little   Tour    in    Ireland," 

published. 
1858.  Organised  the  first  National  Rose  Show. 
1861.  Married    Caroline,    eldest    daughter    of     John 

Francklin  of  Gonalston,  Notts. 
1869.  "A  Book  about  Roses." 
1878.  Took  his  M.A. 

1883.  Chaplain  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
1887.  Appointed  Dean  of  Rochester. 
1892.  "The  Memories  of  Dean  Hole." 
1904.  Died  at  Rochester. 


Ivi 


THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN   HOLE 

[Born  1819.      Died  1904] 

To  HIS  Father. 

[Caunton,  1834.] 
Dear  Papa,  you're  aware  that  but  very  few  days, 
Are  left  me  to  hunt  or  to  shoot  o'er  the  clays, 
That  ere  long  I  must  leave  this  my  dear  country 

house 
To  reside  in  my  town,  not  quite  so  salubrious  : 
At  six  in  the  morning  must  open  my  eyes, 
Forget  Lochinvar  !  the  old  horse  !  the  pork-pies  ; 
In  short,  forget  all  save  my  Greek  and  my  Latin, 
And  must  study  with  zeal,  to  young  boys  a  pattern. 
Ere  I  go  then,  dear  pip,  one  favour  to  me  yield, 
Ere  I  bid  long  farewell  to  the  joys  of  the  field, 
Ere  I  leave,  but  I'm  wasting  my  words — in  a  trice, 
Allow  me  this  week,  dear  papa,  to  hunt  twice, 
To  Laughton  to-morrow  to  ride  Lochinvar, 
Leaving  here  very  early — the  distance  is  far. 
There  is  but  little  fear  of  my  missing  my  way, 
Since  my  uncle  has  thoughts  of  mounting  his  gray. 
Grant  me  my  boon,  dear  Papa,  and  believe  me  I  am 
Your  truly  affectionate,  loving  son,  Sam. 


2  THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  J.  W.  Maxwell  Lyte. 

Caunton,  /ufie  7,  1847. 
My  dear  Lyte, — You  have  doubtless  reached  ere 
this  the  old  house  at  home,  and,  therefore,  your 
pseudo-papa  hastens  to  proffer  his  very  sincere 
thanks  for  your  last  dispatch.  Indeed  it  is  one  of 
the  privileges  of  friendship  to  be  remembered  at 
all  in  another  land  (and  this  by  a  lover ! ) ;  and  I 
can  assure  you,  in  spite  of  off-hand  rackety  man- 
nerism, that  such  tokens  of  attachment — few  and 
far  between  in  our  cold,  calculating,  terrestrial  (snow) 
ball — are  very  highly  prized  by  one,  who  still 
blesses  Heaven  for  a  warm  heart  and  quick 
sympathies  with  those  he  loves.  How  glad  you 
would  be  to  meet  "  ^Ae  Governor,"  Earnestly  I 
hope  and  pray  that  his  patient  cheerfulness  may 
be  recompensed  Aere  by  a  renewal  of  health  and 
strength.  And  what  a  budget  of  interesting  detail 
(told  in  his  mild  musical  English,  which  I  can 
recall  so  pleasantly,  as  when  we  sat  in  his  library 
or  strolled  on  the  stony  cricket-ground  "the  days 
I  spent  in  Devonshire "  )  he  will  unfold  anent  the 
eternal  city.  (By  the  bye,  there  is  a  cry  of 
'*  Question  "  as  to  the  eternity,  for  I  read  that  the 
Malaria  advances  indubitably,  and  Exeter  Hall  will 
doubtless  predict  early  suffocation  unto  its  Baby- 
lonian foe — vide  a  little  book  well  worth  your 
notice,    "  Kip's    Christmas    Holidays    in    Rome.") 


A   FIRST    IN    HONOURS  3 

Pray  offer  my  true  regards  and  respect  to  the 
Pilgrim  Father,  and  Heaven  grant  that  for  the 
future  he  need  not  of  necessity 

"  Go  where  the  Coliseum  rears 
It's  sad  majestic  pile," 

but  live  at  home  at  ease 

"In  his  home  by  Berry's  steep 
Where  the  broad  blue  waters  round  him  swell 
And  the  tempests  o'er  him  sweep." 

He  will  forgive  me  for  lightly  handling  his  poetry 
because  he  knows  that  I  am  an  earnest  admirer 
of  it.  And  pray  give  my  sincere  remembrances 
to  all  my  very  kind  friends,  Mrs.  Lyte,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hogg  (what  is  your  little  niece's  name?),  and 
to  the  Misses  Craigie.     Happy  John  ! 

All  your  friends  here  rejoice  in  your  well-being 
and  prospects.  I  have  attempted  a  feeble  portrait 
of  la  paulopost-futura  Mrs.  Peter,  but  I  hope  you 
will  shame  my  powers  of  description  by  introducing 

the  reality.     Mrs.   W seems   rather  to  think 

that  W will  take  a  First.     I  think  he  would 

take  it  if  they  were  to  offer  it,  but  I  anticipate  a 
third  at  most. — Yours  ever  very  sincerely. 

The  Long  Un. 

To  J.  W.  Maxwell  Lyte. 

CaUNTON,  May  31,  1848. 

Dear  old  Peter  Paterfamilias, — You  would 
have  been  pleased,  I  am  sure,  to  have  contemplated 


4  THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

the  Long  Un's  smiling  and  happy  countenance,  as 
he  recognised  your  caligraphy,  and,  specially,  as  he 
read  the  good  tidings  which  it  brought.  My  very 
earnest  and  sincere  congratulations  are  proffered  in 
all  truth,  and  may  the  blessing  of  Heaven  be  upon 
your  wife  and  your  child  for  ever.  If  the  boy  be 
not  already  baptized,  don't  omit  the  good  name  of 
John  among  his  appellatives. 

I  have  had  a  rather  serious  illness  this  winter, 
and  for  two  months,  Feb*'  and  March,  I  was  not 
beyond  the  walls  of  mine  house :  in  fact  I  am  only 
just  qiialis  eram. 

How  long  have  you  been  in  London  ?  I  was 
there  the  second  week  in  May  to  hear  Jenny,  but 
never  dreamt  of  your  presence  in  the  metropolis  or 
I  would  have  called  on  you  the  first  thing,  tho'  I 
was  only  up  for  three  days.  I  yearn  to  grasp  your 
true  hand  again,  and  have  pyramids  of  things  to 
talk  about.  Could  not  you  come  to  our  Archery 
Meeting  on  the  8th,  to-morrow  week  ?  Do,  Peter  ! 
I  would  give  anything  to  see  your  long  pliant  old 
back  whirling  once  more  round  the  ball-room  at 
Southwell. 

Mrs.  Raven  ^  had  a  little  girl  the  last  day  of  April : 
the  young  lady  arrived  rather  unexpectedly  during 
my  visit,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing,  a  few 
hours  after  her  advent,  the  realisation  of  Keble's 
beautiful  lines  : 

^  Mrs.  Raven  and  Mrs.  Hilton  were  Hole's  sisters. 


SORE   WITH    LOVE  5 

"  Mysterious  to  all  thought 
A  mother's  prime  of  bliss, 
When  to  her  eager  lips  is  brought 
Her  infant's  thrilling  kiss." 

Mrs.  Hilton  is  leaving,  ay  de  mi,  this  morning, 
and  she  desires  her  kindest  regards  to  you.  I  wish 
Mrs.  Maxwell  Lyte  knew  her.  I  shall  escort  her 
to  Nottingham  on  her  way  to  Staffordshire,  as  there 
is  a  flower-show  at  the  former  place,  and  bachelors 
love  flower-shows  as  institutions  conducive  to  the 
production  of  pretty  bonnets.  Apropos  to  prettiness, 
I  am  still  haunted  by  bright  visions  of  that  tall  and 
elegant  and  beauteous  bridesmaid  whom  I  took 
(happy  Long  Un !)  to  your  wedding  dijeuner.  In 
the  impassioned  language  of  Toots,  I  left  London 
quite  "sore  with  love." 

I  must  go  for  to  decorate  for  the  Horticultural : 
do  you  remember  how  we  used  to  "  get  up  "  for  the 
High?  I  should  like  to  take  my  M.A.  at  the 
Commemoration,  but  the  depressed  state  of  the 
money  market  and  the  perturbed  state  of  the  Con- 
tinent won't  permit. 

Now  do  come  over  to  the  Archery:  I'm  sure 
you're  quite  in  the  way  now,  you  long  lot  of  pater- 
nity, and  I  have  most  important  things  to  tell  you. 
The  Cricket  Club  of  which  I  am  V.  P.  will  be 
delighted  to  witness  your  fine  forward  hitting  on 
Tuesday  next,  the  6th  instant,  or  13th  or  any  time. 

My  kind  regards  and  congratulations  to  the 
ladies  at   i    H.  P.  Place,  and  my  best  love  to  little 


6  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Peter.  (I  could  send  that  latter  message  somewhere 
else,  entre  nous.)  —  Thine  ever,  dear  B.,  mo. 
affectionately.  The  Governor. 

The  two  letters  above  were  written  to  one  of  Hole's 
greatest  friends  at  Oxford,  J.  W.  Maxwell  Lyte,  who 
went  up  to  New  as  Gentleman  Commoner  in  1843. 
The  originals  belong  to  J.  W.  Maxwell  Lyte's  son,  Sir 
Henry  Maxwell  Lyte,  the  present  head  of  the  Public 
Records  Office,  who  has  also  kindly  shown  me  various 
undergraduate  verses  written  by  Hole  at  this  time.    Lyte, 

Stokes,  W ,  and  Hole  were  Oxford  friends.     Stokes 

and  W were  apparently  reading  men.    Hole  himself 

went  to  Oxford  to  get  a  First.  He  read  for  two  terms. 
But  one  day  he  met  a  friend  in  "  black  velvet  cap  and 
scarlet  coat,  a  bird's-eye  blue  tie,  buff  keyseymere  waist- 
coat, buckskin  breeches,  and  pale  brown  tops,"  coming 
down  into  the  quad — and  then  he  wrote  home  for  a 
horse.  Stokes  took  a  First,  afterwards  married  a 
daughter  of  Dean  Gaisford  of  Christchurch,  and  became 

Proctor  in  his  turn.     W 's  hopes  of  a  First  were 

dashed,  as  his  friend  thought  they  must  be.     A  searcher 

tells  me  he  cannot  discover  W 's  name  on  the  class 

list  for  1847.  Perhaps  he  was  given  "a  gulf":  such 
a  fate  has  certainly  befallen  before  now  the  hopeful 
candidate  for  honours.    Hole  himself  graduated  in  1844. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  life  at  B.  N.  C.  in  the  early 
'forties  had  strong  attractions  for  a  lover  of  sport,  fox- 
hunting particularly,  and  it  is  not  less  clear  that  Hole 
knew  how  to  enjoy  it. 

"  How  jollily,  how  joyously  we  live  at  B.  N.  C. ! 
Our  reading  is  all  moonshine — the  wind  is  not  more  free," 

he  exclaims  in  some  verses  written  in  1841.  Driving 
tandem,  hunting  with  Mr.  Drake's  pack  and  others,  and 


LIFE   AT   B.   N.   C.  7 

"wines"  of  the  good  old  sort — small  wonder  W 

was  disappointed  of  his  First,  if  he  were  involved  even 
a  little  in  the  generous  life  of  the  riding  and  hunt- 
ing men.  In  1847  a  little  book  was  published  by 
Vincent  at  Oxford  containing  Hole's  hints  to  Fresh- 
men, his  parodies,  and  a  note  or  two  throwing  light  on 
the  way  of  life  among  the  leading  men  at  B.  N.  C. 
From  one  of  the  notes  I  gather  that  J.  R.  G.  was  "one 
of  the  first  men  in  the  college  with  hounds."  J.  R.  G. 
managed,  in  spite  of  sport,  to  take  his  degree  in  1844, 
but  evidently  the  type  came  to  grief  at  times,  as  a 
parody  of  Hole's  relates  : — 

"  He  wore  grey  worsted  stockings  that  term  when  first  we  met, 
His  trousers  had  no  straps — his  high-lows  had  no  jet ; 
His  look  it  had  the  greenness,  his  voice  the  sleepy  tone — 
The  token  of  a  raw  young  man  who'd  lately  left  his  home. 
I  saw  him  but  for  a  moment,  yet  methinks  I  see  him  now. 
With  his  cap  the  wrong  end  foremost  upon  his  freshman's  brow. 

A  pink  and  snowy  buckskins  when  next  we  met  he  wore. 
The  expression  of  his  banker  was  more  thoughtful  than  before  ; 
And  riding  by  his  side  was  one  who  strove,  and  not  in  vain, 
To  borrow  five-and-twenty  pounds  he  ne'er  might  see  again  ; 
I  saw  him  lend  the  money,  and  methinks  I  see  him  now, 
With  his  hunting  cap  of  velvet  upon  his  sportsman's  brow. 

And  once  again  I  see  that  brow,  no  sporting  cap  is  there  ; 

An  article  at  four  and  nine  sits  on  his  untrimmed  hair ; 

I  see  him  playing  racquets  in  the  Fleet,  yet  even  now 

Methinks  I  see  my  freshman  with  verdure  on  his  brow. 

The  face  is  somewhat  dirty,  yet  methinks  I  see  it  now. 

With  a  cap  the  wrong  end  foremost  upon  the  freshman's  brow." 

The  letters  of  Hole  to  Lyte  and  a  letter  of  Lyte  to 
Hole  show  that  neither  belonged  to  a  set  merely 
thoughtless  and  selfish  in  its  pursuit  of  sport  and 
pleasure.  Whatever  record  leapt  to  light  about  their 
life  at  Oxford,  I  think  there  could  be  little  in  it  to  put 
their  repute  to  shame.  Theirs  was  rather  the  joyous 
vitality   and    heart    of    young    England    in    the    most 


8  THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

generous  years  of  life — the  cup  of  youth  sparkling  over 
as  it  has  in  many  men  hereafter  to  be  honoured  workers 
and  thinkers  in  pubHc  life.  It  may  even  be  in  some 
cases  that — 

"...  had  the  wild  oat  not  been  sown, 
The  soil,  left  barren,  scarce  had  grown 
The  grain  by  which  a  man  may  live." 

Hole  was  a  groomsman  in  June  1846  at  the  marriage 
of  Miss  Lyte  to  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Hogg  at  Brixham  in 
Devonshire,  and  groomsman  also  at  his  friend's  marriage 
to  Miss  Craigie  in  the  following  year.  He  protested 
vigorously  against  the  doctrine  of  celibacy  for  priests  in 
some  verses  written  on  the  Brixham  wedding  : — 

"  And  then  the  Bride,  the  stately  one  !  I  would  some  Abbess  pale 
Had  learned  then  how  English  Maids  do  wisely  take  the  Veil, 
And  to  her  melancholy  nuns  had  taught  our  better  ways 
As  gracefully  shown  forth  by  thee.  Miss  Lyte  of  other  days. 

Oh  !  ye  gaunt  Hermits,  who  maintain  we  poor  priests  must  not  wed 
Those  Bridesmaids  soon  I    think  had  chased  such  crotchets  from 

your  head, 
Had  made  you  sell  your  sackcloth  and  forthwith  begin  to  think 
One  only  Hermitage  correct — the  Hermitage  we  drink." 

Lyte  proposes  a  trip  to  Oxford  just  before  his 
marriage,  writing  to  Hole  on  May  i,  1847:  **The 
Misses  Craigie  are  (to  my  grief)  at  present  abiding  in 
the  tents  of  Kedar  {i.e.  a  house  that  Mrs.  Craigie  has 
most  inconsistently  taken  a  lease  of,  believing  as  she 
does  that  the  world  is  coming  to  an  end  in  a  year  or 
two^),  at  I  Hyde  Park  Place,  West,  London — where, 
should  aught  call  you  to  '  the  village,'  I  am  sure  they 
will  be  delighted  to  see  you.  Please  to  make  arrange- 
ments to  come  up  to  London  a  week  before  the  day — as 

^  The  influence,  perhaps,  of  Dr.  Gumming.  It  used  to  be  said  that 
at  the  very  time  he  was  announcing  the  end  of  the  world  as  imminent 
he  took  a  ninety-nine  years'  lease  of  his  house. 


THE   GREAT   SHOW  9 

I  intend  to  have  a  slight  preliminary  lark  in  the  way  of  a 
trip  to  Oxon.,  and  it  would  be  nothing  without  '  the  dear 
old  Long  Un.'  Only  think  of  my  mathem. — I  have  brast 
asunder  all  my  stock  of  Tops  and  cannot  replace  them  ! 
I  hope  that  my  dear  father  will  be  returned  in  time  for 
my  wedding  (as  if  he  had  been  lent  somewhere!)  and 
that  he  will  be  able  to  perform  the  ceremony  for  us."  ^ 
Lyte  died  in  the  following  year,  a  few  weeks  after  the 
birth  of  his  son — the  present  Sir  Maxwell  Lyte — but  Hole 
never  forgot  his  greatest  Oxford  friend,  and  referred 
to  him  affectionately  in  a  speech  nearly  sixty  years 
afterwards. 

To  Thomas  Rivers.^ 

Caunton  'Manor,  June  22,  1858. 
My  dear  Mr.  Rivers, 
Altho'  my  hand  quivers, 
With  writing  about  our  Great  Show,^ 
I  must  send  you  a  line, 
Just  to  say,  wet  or  fine, 
To-morrow  I'll  be  at  Har-low. 
Ah  !  'mid  fruit-trees  and  flowers, 
In  evening's  still  hours, 
I'll  be  happy  as  merry  King  Cole. 
And  therefore,  no  more. 
Until  "two  twenty-four," 
From  yours,  my  dear  Sir, 

Reynolds  Hole. 

1  The  Rev.   H.  F.  Lyte,  author  of  "Abide  with  Me";    "a  true 
gentleman,  scholar,  poet,  saint,"  Hole  describes  him. 

2  Author  of  "The  Rose  Amateur's  Guide." 

*  The  First  Grand  National  Rose  Show,  started  by  Hole  and  held 
in  St.  James's  Hall,  London,  on  July  1,  1858. 


10  THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  John  Leech.^ 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
Septetnber  2^,  1858. 

My  dear  Leech, — If  you  will  imagine  our  friend 
Batty,  the  Zoologist,  who  "  challenged  the  world " 
at  Donnybrook,  unexpectedly  presented  with  a 
White  Elephant,  a  Lioness  (as  Lionesses  ought  to 
be  who  love  their  Lions),  a  Sea  Serpent  in  suitable 
Tank,  a  Gasometer  full  of  gin,  12  new  Caravans, 
and  ^500 ;  or  a  young  Lady,  in  the  first  delight  of 
receiving  a  new  horse,  a  new  Ball-step,  3  offers 
by  the  same  post,  a  piping  bull-finch,  an  opera-box, 
and  miniature  of  Arthur  set  in  diamonds ;  or  your- 
self, suddenly  possessed  of  all  the  pictures  that  were 
in  "The  Art  Treasures"  at  Manchester,  a  hat 
which  could  never  grow  old,  perfect  forgetfulness 
of  what  headache,  catarrh,  or  fatigue  were  like,  the 
finest  salmon  fishing  in  the  world,  Heidelberg  Tun 
full  of  claret,  and  the  best  stud  of  hunters  going ; 
why  then  you  will  form  some  idea  of  my  joy  on 
receiving  the  grand  gift,  which  you  have  so 
generously  sent  to  me. 

But   seriously,   and   in   plain   sober  truth,   I   can 

^  The  letters  to  Leech  were  lent  by  Mr.  Henry  Silver.  "They 
were  given  to  me,"  writes  Mr.  Silver,  "by  Mrs.  Leech  herself,  with 
many  others  from  his  friends  which  she  had  thought  worth  keeping. 
And  I  may  just  add  that  it  always  seemed  a  pleasure  to  the  Dean 
to  be  reminded  of  his  intimacy  with  one  whom  all  agreed  in  thinking 
the  most  loveable  of  friends  ;  and  whose  loss  left  such  a  blank  in  life 
as  never  could  be  filled  up  by  any  later  friendship." 


HOLE   AND    LEECH  ii 

honestly  say  that  I  never  received  a  present  which 
pleased  me  so  much. 

Alas,  I  have  nothing  to  offer  in  return,  but 
"  evermore  thanks,  the  exchequer  of  the  poor," 
and  the  assurance  of  a  regard  and  admiration, 
every  day  increasing. 

I  hope  you  found  all  well  at  Scarborough  ;  please 
offer  my  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Leech. — And  believe 
me,  my  dear  Leech,  your  obliged  and  attached 
friend,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

Leech  and  Hole  were  great  friends.  At  Leech's 
suggestion  they  travelled  together  in  Ireland,  and  the 
result  was  '*  A  Little  Tour  in  Ireland,"  which  Hole 
wrote,  and  which  was  illustrated  by  what  Ruskin  called 
"the  kind  and  vivid  genius  of  John  Leech."  John 
Deane,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Royal  Commission 
at  the  time  of  the  Famine,  drew  out  a  route  which  in- 
cluded Dublin,  Connemara,  the  scenery  of  the  Shannon 
from  Athlone  to  Limerick,  Killarney,  Glengariff,  and 
Cork.  In  some  manuscript  notes  among  the  Dean's 
papers  I  find  this  passage  :  "We  had  ample  time 
thoroughly  to  enjoy  that  which  we  saw,  not  acting  on 
the  principle  of  that  cockney  tourist,  whom  dear  old 
Waterton,  the  naturalist,  met  in  Belgium,  and  who 
boasted  that  he  had  'knocked  off  thirteen  churches 
that  morning,'  but  going  leisurely  like  large  butterflies 
from  flower  to  flower.  ...  In  fact  you  cannot  hurry 
in  Ireland,  there  is  something  in  the  humid  atmosphere 
and  in  the  habits  and  demeanour  of  the  people  which 
ignores  haste.  Ah  me  !  how  happy  we  were — looking 
from  the  steamer  at  the  calm,  phosphorescent  waves 
(so  thankful  they  were  calm,  though  Leech  had  repre- 
sented  himself  in  a  letter  as   revelling   in   the   stormy 


12  THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

seas),  or  gliding  along  the  rails,  or  riding  in  cars,  or 
rowing  in  boats,  listening  to  quaint  carmen,  oarsmen 
and  guides,  talking  and  laughing  in  genial  converse, 
or  .  .  .  silent  in  perfect  sympathy,  one  of  the  surest 
signs  and  one  of  the  purest  delights  of  a  true  friend- 
ship." 

"A  Little  Tour  in  Ireland"  was  published  by  Messrs. 
Bradbury  &  Evans  of  Punch  in  1859,  and  reprinted  by 
Mr.  Arnold  many  years  later.  It  is  a  book  full  of 
romping  spirit  both  in  letterpress  and  pictures.  The 
large-paper  copies  of  this  reprint,  with  Leech's  brilliant 
illustrations  in  colour  of  the  Irish  peasantry,  have  now 
a  value  of  their  own  among  collectors  and  lovers  of 
choice  editions.  During  a  visit  to  Rochester  in  1903, 
the  Dean  gave  me  one  of  the  large-paper  copies,  with 
a  joyful  inscription  on  the  flyleaf.  The  memory  of 
that  visit  is  fresh  with  me.  It  was  a  little  after  "the 
roses  and  the  longest  day,"  but  the  herbaceous  borders 
in  the  Deanery  garden  had  scarcely  passed  their  lupin 
and  larkspur  zenith,  whilst  the  "jolly"  sweet  peas,  as 
he  called  them,  were  in  full  bloom.  The  white  lilies, 
rows  of  them,  shone  in  the  Kent  cottage  gardens  about 
Rochester  that  July. 

Leech  and  Hole  corresponded  regularly,  and  Leech 
stayed  at  Caunton  and  saw  something  of  sport  with 
one  or  two  Midland  packs.  I  have  not  been  able  to 
find  any  of  the  letters  which  Hole  wrote  to  Leech, 
save  those  which  Mr.  Silver  has  supplied,  and  I  doubt 
whether  they  now  exist.  But  the  tenor  of  the  gay 
correspondence  is  shown  clearly  enough  in  these  few 
specimens,  and  in  those  which  Leech  wrote  to  Hole, 
There  is  a  large  number  of  the  latter  among  the  Dean's 
papers,  and  they  are  undoubtedly  the  letters  which 
Mr.  W.  H.  Frith,  R..A.,  refers  to  in  his  life  of  Leech. 
He  says  they  were  "  denied  "  him.  The  reason  of  this 
was   that    Hole   himself  thought   of   writing   a    life    of 


LEECH    AND   ART  13 

Leech,  and  numbered  and  noted  the  letters  for  this 
purpose.  Mr.  David  Douglas,  the  Edinburgh  pubhsher, 
mentions  to  me  that  Hole  and  Dr.  John  Brown,  the 
author  of  "  Rab  and  His  Friends,"  discussed  the  pro- 
ject. Hole  wrote  some  introductory  matter,  part  of 
which,  years  later,  was  embodied  by  Dr.  Brown  in 
Horce  Siibsecivcs.  Some  of  Leech's  letters  were  illus- 
trated by  sketches  dashed  off  with  his  quill,  and  a  few 
of  these  sketches,  lightning  work  of  genius,  were  re- 
produced in  Hole's  "  Memories." 

But  though  so  quick,  Leech  was  a  most  conscientious 
draughtsman.  "  He  went  a  second  time  over  the 
Channel,  and  across  Ireland  to  Galway,  that  he  might 
finish  to  his  satisfaction  the  wonderful  picture  of  the 
Claddagh.  .  .  .  Sometimes  his  rapidity  of  execution  was 
marvellous.  I  have  known  him  send  off" — I  quote 
from  some  MS.  notes  of  the  Dean's  relating  to  the 
"Tour" — ''from  my  own  house  three  finished  drawings 
on  the  wood,  designed  and  realised,  without  much 
effort,  as  it  seemed,  between  breakfast  and  dinner — 
but  there  was  never  haste." 


Here  are  a  few  extracts  from  Leech's  letters  : — 

Monday^  April  25,  [?]  1859. 

"  Lincoln  Fair  is  impossible,  but  I  say  ! — I  am  going 
to  the  Derby  (on  the  25th  of  May,  I  think)  with  Morris, 
Dasent  (one  of  the  Thunderer's  ^  biggest  guns  and  no 
end  of  [a]  jolly  fellow),  Lucas,  and  one  or  two  others. 
I  have  been  requested  to  ask  an  agreeable  companion 
to  make  up  our  number — I  think  I  know  of  one  and 
he  lives  at  Caunton — What  does  he  say  ?  Do — We  go 
by  the  road  in  a  Broosh — " 

*   The  Times. 


14     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

On  the  death  of  Mrs.  John  Hilton,  Hole's  sister,  in 
May  1859  : — 

"At  the  risk  of  intruding  upon  your  sorrow  I  cannot 
resist  writing  to  you  a  few  lines  to  say  how  grieved  I 
was  to  receive  your  note  this  morning.  I  know  too  well 
how  useless  mere  words  of  condolence  are  for  such  a 
loss  as  I  feel  sure  yours  must  be.  Still,  I  write  in  the 
hope  that  the  assurance  of  my  earnest  sympathy  may 
be  some  comfort  to  you  ;  believe  me,  my  dear  friend, 
you  do  me  but  justice  in  thinking  that  you  have  it. 
This  will  be  a  sad  affliction  to  your  poor  father,  and 
I  am  glad  that  you  are  with  him  to  sustain  him  in 
the  trial." 

Leech  was  enthusiastic  over  the  "  Little  Tour  in 
Ireland,"  and  he  tears  open  one  of  his  letters,  as  the 
book  nears  publication,  to  give  "  Hip-Hip-Hooray ! 
Hooray!  Hooray!"  for  it.  On  August  11,  1859,  he 
writes  that  his  sketches  are  absolutely  finished,  and  he 
is  stirring  up  the  firm  at  Whitefriars  to  put  extra  hands 
at  work  on  the  mechanical  process. 

"  November  18,  1859. 

"  I  will  try  hard  to  come  on  the  26th.  I  am  not  quite 
sure  whether  I  ought  to  mix  with  those  Commoners, 
but,  however,  when  I  get  to  Caunton  I  will  see  what 
can  be  done  !  I  am  glad  you  like  Bow-wow.  I  can't 
bring  myself  to  think  that  old  England  is  chained  up 
yet." 

'■'■November  18,  i860. 

"  My  dear  Hole, — The  hamper  arrived  safely.  Pray 
accept  our  very  best  thanks  therefor.  You  excel  in 
your  drawings  upon  the  wood.  There's  a  delicacy  of 
execution,  a  featheriness,  so  to  speak,  about  the  birds 
in  the  foreground,  relieved,  as  they  are,  so  gracefully 
by   what   one   may  call   the  hare-iness   of   the   middle 


LEECH   AND   SPORT  15 

distance,  that  I  stand  with  my  hands  in  my  pockets 
and  gloat  over  the  beauty  of  the  whole.  I  shall  hang 
them  up  as  they  are  for  the  present,  and  by-and-bye 
put  them  in  appropriate  frames  in  my  dining-room. 
It's  of  no  use  my  saying  to  you  how  busy  I  am,  and 
how  utterly  impossible  it  is  for  me  to  think  of  hunting 
in  Nottingham  yet,  but  depend  upon  it  as  soon  as  I 
possibly  can  I  shall  accept  your  cordial  invitation.  I 
am  beginning  my  Christmas  work  earlier  this  year,  so 
that  perhaps  I  may  turn  up  earlier  than  usual.  To 
one  who  has  been  accustomed  to  the  ducal  science  of 
deer-stalking,  perhaps  the  effeminate  sports  of  the  South 
may  appear  comparatively  poor  and  uninteresting. 
Nevertheless,  if  you  will  find  me  a  young  and  ex- 
tremely hot  chestnut  horse,  and  as  stiff  a  country  as 
you  have  about  your  neighbourhood,  I  may  find  a 
little  engagement  in  a  day's  hunting  with  you  and 
Mr.  Speaker. 

.  .  .  Believe  me  always,  my  dear  Master  Reynolds, 
yours  faithfully,  JOHN  Leech."  Mr.  Speaker  was 
Speaker  Denison,  afterwards  Lord  Ossington,  who 
hunted  with  the  Rufford.  Leech  was  under  no  delusion 
as  to  his  sportsmanship.  His  deer-stalking  was  chiefly 
of  the  imagination,  and  though  he  rode  and  cared  for 
horses,  he  would  never  have  been  happy  on  any  but 
a  very  quiet  and  slow  one.  Perhaps  this  helped  him 
to  realise  and  depict  the  ludicrous  side  of  sport  with 
horse,  dog,  and  gun,  for  which  many  of  his  sketches 
remain  matchless.  But,  ineffective  himself  in  the  saddle 
or  with  the  gun,  Leech  entered  fully  into  the  spirit 
of  the  thing ;  he  revelled  in  the  life  and  colour  of  a 
first-class  foxhunt,  as  a  letter  written  for  the  Garrick 
Club  in  March  1863  shows  :  "  We  had  a  very  pleasant 
gathering  at  Moulton.  .  .  .  Nethercote  took  me  yester- 
day to  see  a  meet  of  the  Pytchley  Hunt  at  Cottes- 
brook.     It  made  me  think  very  small  of  my  poor  little 


i6  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Hertfordshire  county.  I  can  fancy  nothing  much  more 
dehghtful  than  a  few  first-rate  hunters  and  a  httle  first- 
rate  pluck,  and  to  be  set  going  over  the  grass.  I  met  a 
friend  of  yours  with  the  Puckeridge  some  weeks  back 
— he  hunts  with  the  Rufford,  and  gave  me  a  glowing 
description  of  your  new  horse  and  of  your  hard  riding 
in  a  two  hours'  run.  Don't  you  think  you  ought  to 
be  ashamed  of  yourself — you,  the  father  of  a  family  ! " 

^'•September  5,  1864. 
"Although  I  cannot  stand  the  physical  exertion  of 
stalking  about  Turnips,  I  am  happy  to  find  there  is  a 
good  fellow  who  can  do  it  in  earnest  and  greatly  to 
my  satisfaction.  He  sent  me  a  hamper  with  three  brace 
of  birds  in  excellent  condition,  and  we  are  all  much 
obliged  to  him."  In  this  letter,  the  last  I  need  quote 
from  the  long  series  which  Hole  kept.  Leech  says 
that  the  Whitby  air  is  restoring  him  to  a  little  health. 
He  had  evidently  been  suffering  from  the  effects  of 
overwork.  These  letters,  as  a  whole,  give  one  the  idea 
of  restless,  high-spirited,  nervous  toil.  In  the  writing, 
the  very  punctuation,  there  is  something  that  tells  of 
a  man  who,  in  the  stress  and  endeavour  of  life,  has 
barely  a  minute  to  spare.  Leech  indeed  was  always 
overworked  :  he  once  told  Denison  that  he  felt  like  a 
man  who  had  pledged  himself  to  walk  a  thousand 
miles  straight  off  in  a  thousand  hours. 


To  John  Leech. 

Caunton  Manor, 

September  25,  [1859]. 

My  dear  Leech, — I  am  sure  that  I  need  not  say 
that  I  am  most  sincerely  sorry  to  hear  of  your  dear 
little  boy's  indisposition,  and  shall  be  quite  anxious 


THE   LITTLE   TOUR  17 

to  hear  from  you,  when  you  can  find  a  few  minutes 

to  give  me  a  bulletin.     My  address  during  this  week 

will  be  at 

Springkell, 

ecclefechan,  n.b., 

and  an  account  of  my  Little  Tour  in  Scotland  will 
appear  in  the  "  Athenaeum,"  with  some  very  wooden 
cuts  by  "H.  D." 

I  have  written  to  Milward  by  this  post.  I  went 
over  to  Thurgarton  and  had  a  shy  at  Aunt  Sally 
yesterday.  She  is  a  gentlemanlike  looking  hack, 
dark  chestnut,  with  rather  more  white  about  the 
face  and  hind  legs  than  one  requires,  but  good- 
looking,  and  particula7'ly  pleasant  to  ride,  good  in 
all  her  paces,  but  especially  in  her  walk  and  canter.^ 
She  seems  very  good-tempered,  and  I  rode  her 
close  up  to  the  gate  of  the  rail  by  Thurgarton  as 
a  train  came  up,  but  she  took  no  notice.  She  is 
five  years  old.  I  believe  she  would  suit  you  exactly, 
but  Milward  very  kindly  says  you  can  try  her  and 
return  her.  As  to  her  value,  I  should  not  myself 
be  inclined  to  exceed  ;^50,  but  at  the  same  time 
I  am  well  aware  that  an  animal,  which  would  cause 
you  to  enjoy  exercise,  is  a  luxury  for  which  a  high 
price  must  be  paid. 

The  Little  Tour  is  delightfully  reviewed  in  "  The 
Gardeners'  Chronicle,"  published  by  B.  &  E.  and 

^  "The  quietest  and  most  retiring  of  riders,"  writes  Hole  of  Leech, 
"  much  as  he  loved  the  sport ;  never  going  over  a  fence  when  he  could 
find  a  gap  or  a  gate." 

B 


i8     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

numbering  S.  R.  H.  among  its  contributors.  But 
really  it  is  a  very  pleasant  bit  of  praise.  "The 
Leader"  of  Sepf  17  has  found  out  that  the  work  is 
written  by  Mark  Lemon ! — not  the  first  Leader  that 
has  been  taken  in  by  a  Goose. 

I  hope  to  see  you  as  you  return  from  Scarboro', 
and  apropos  of  that  place  I  think  the  sketch  sent 
from  Caunton  one  of  your  happiest,  and  feel  quite 
proud  of  it.  I  dreamed  the  other  night  that  I  wrote 
an  article  about  you,  in  which  I  proved  you  to  be 
the  greatest  author,  as  well  as  artist  of  your  time. 

("Gardeners'  Chronicle,"  by  the  way,  terms  you 
"  our  modern  Hogarth  "),  and  made  it  perfectly 
clear  that  you  caused  more  cheerfulness  in  British 
hearts  than  all  the  philanthropists  going. 

Send  me  a  line  about  your  boy,  and  with  our  true 
sympathies,  and  our  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Leech, — 
Believe  me,  dear  Leech,  yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  John  Leech. 

Springkell,  Ecclefechan,  N.B., 
Septetnber  27,  [1859]. 

My  dear  Leech, — I  have  read  the  review  of  our 
dear  little  Tour  (that  is  to  say,  of  our  remarkably 
cheap  Little  Tour)  in  "The  Times"  of  yesterday,  and 
have  been  drinking  the  Reviewer's  health  ever  since 
in  any  liquor  which  came  to  hand.  I  don't  know 
that  I  ever  was  so  jolly  in  my  life,  as  when   I  first 


AN    EXCELLENT   PRESS  19 

caught  sight  of  that  genial,  graceful,  glorious  notice  ; 

and  I  could  almost  have  shaken  hands  with  H 

D . 

How  is  your  little  boy  f  This  is  a  lovely  place, 
but  the  post  leaves  (of  course)  in  the  middle  of  the 
day,  and  as  we  are  going  after  grouse  and  blackcock, 
I  have  no  time  for  more. 

Besides  I'm  not  sober,  and  don't  mean  to  be  for 
many  months. 

Sir,  the  Press  of  this  country  is  the  Sun  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Let  us  bask  in  its  rays  and  be 
glad! 

With  kind  regards,  and  love  to  the  children, — 
Yours  ever  and  sincerely,       "  The  Oxonian." 

Alluded  to  [in]  "  The  Times  "  of 
September  26 — whack  ! 

To  John  Leech. 

September  30,  [1859]. 

My  dear  Leech, — Tho'  the  article  which  you 
have  sent  me  from  the  Unwelcome  Pest  is  highly 
amusing  to  the  public  generally  and  to  those  who 
know  you  in  particular,  and  ought  only  to  be  read 
with  the  serenest  mirth,  I  must  confess  that  my 
teeth  snapped  and  my  toes  quivered,  and  I  had  not 
a  single  thought  or  feeling  which  a  cool  clergyman 
ought  to  have,  when  I  reperused  the  dirty  document 
in  question. 


20  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

It  becomes  more  manifest  every  day  that  snobs 
hate  gentlemen  more  and  more.  The  worst  of  it 
is  that  snobs  have  clever  pens  (the  Muse  has 
fallen  in  love  with  the  groom  and  taught  him  how 
to  write),  and  can  make  their  malice  palatable  to 
many  minds. 

But  I  have  no  time  to  say  my  say,  and  I  am 
glad  of  it,  for  the  mountain  air  will  restore  my 
equanimity,  and  hereafter  we  shall  have  nothing 
but  fun  out  of  this  excessively  unclean  production. 
The    grub    will    attack    the    rose,    my    Leech : — 

Would  that  I  could  take  this ^  and  treat  him 

as  I  do  the  Caunton  caterpillars. 

You  know  how  happy  I  am  in  hearing  of 
your  boy's  convalescence.  I  do  not  return  at 
present. 

Well,  well,  I'm  coming. — Thine  ever, 

S.  R.  H. 


To  John  Leech. 

Caunton  Manor,  October  12,  1859. 
My  dear  Leech, — I  have  received  a  cheque  from 
Bradbury  &  Evans  for  ;!^i05,  with  an  allusion  to 
future  favours.  I  have  thanked  them  sincerely,  but 
my  chief  thanks  and  theirs  (as  I  told  them)  are  due, 
of  course,  to  you.  For  they  know,  and  I  know, 
and  you  know,  and  all  the  world  knows,  that  "  A 

1  A  critic  not  friendly  to  John  Leech, 


THE    REVIEWS  21 

Little  Tour  in  Ireland"  would  in  all  probability- 
have  made  a  Little  Ditto  to  the  Trunkmakers,  had 
it  not  been  illustrated  by  John  Leech — God  bless 
him. 

I  am  the  last  man  to  say  that  there  is  nothing  to 
recommend  the  text ;  but  the  first  to  maintain  that 
the  merits  thereof  (if  any)  would  never  have  been 
recognised,  had  they  not  been  chaperoned  by  you. 
And  so,  my  friend,  with  the  delightful  document  on 
"  Smith,  Payne,  &  Smith  "  before  me,  I  see  thro' 
the  signature  of  "  Bradbury  &  Evans  "  the  name  of 
John  Leech,  and  to  him  I  tender  my  most  genuine 
gratitude. 

The  cheque  is  most  acceptable,  for  my  normal 
state,  ever  since  I  was  weaned,  has  been  to  be  in 
arrear,  but  far  beyond  the  pecuniary  pleasure  is 
my  real  pride  and  delight  in  having  "whipped 
in "  to  you  during  one  of  the  pleasantest  runs  I 
ever  saw  in  my  life,  and  in  having  feebly  assisted 
you  in  killing  your  fox,  as  you  would  do  with  the 
worst  whip  in  England. 

The  Reviews,  I  suppose,  are  very  satisfactory, 
because  Evans  says  so.  The  citizen  in  "  The 
Times"  makes  me  thrill  with  delight,  and  I  was 
immensely  pleased  with  "  The  Spectator," 
"  Examiner,"  "  Globe,"  and  "  Illustrated  "  ;  the 
others  read  the  book  in  no  spirit  of  sympathy.  All 
praise  you,  except  H.  D. — poor  beast!  .  .  . 

My  dear   Leech,  I   have  so  much  to  say  that  I 


22     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

shall  not  attempt  anything  of  the  kind.  The 
chief  thing  on  my  mind  is  to  ask  you  (and  if  you 
knew  how  really  anxious  I  am  on  the  point,  you 
would  not  refuse,  tho'  you  are  such  a  granite- 
hearted  old  ruffian)  to  coine  here  in  November  and 
do  the  Almanac}  I  can  easily  prove  that  it  is  your 
duty  to  do  so. 

I.  You  cannot  get  the  little  oxygen,  which  there 
is  to  be  got  in  Nov"",  except  in  the  country.  II. 
You  want  all  the  oxygen  there  is  in  the  firmament 
to  do  justice  to  the  Almanac.  III.  We  have  horses 
and  dogs  and  every  adjunct  of  country  life.  IV. 
You  will  be  removed  from  the  cares  of  housekeep- 
ing. V.  It  is  proved  that  Caunton  is  singularly 
adapted  for  the  realisations  of  Art,  all  critics  at 
home  and  abroad  uniting  in  the  assertion  that  the 
three  drawings  finished  by  you  in  one  morning 
here  were  the  best  (with  the  trifling  exception  of 
3  little  sketches  of  my  own)  ever  done  in  the  same 
period  of  time. 

No  but  really  will  you  bring  the  mahogany 
box  and  come  ?  Please  do,  for  how  else  am  I  to 
tell  you  all  I  have  to  say  and  to  hear  all  I  desire  to 
know?  How  else  are  you  to  get  your  gun,  which  I 
am  thoroughly  ashamed  to  have  forgotten  ?  How 
else  are  we  to  arrange  about  "  A  Little  Tour  in 
Holland,"  which  I  hope  will  be  realised,  and  for 
which    we    can    get    some    capital    introductions  ? 

*  Punches  Almanac. 


*. 


RETURN    FROM   SCOTLAND  23 

Echo  answers,  "  Nohow,"  so  fix  your  day.  Bring 
Aunt  Sally  to  "keep  company"  with  my  new 
horse,  a  beauty,  and  I  will  guarantee  that  you 
shall  do  twice  the  work  you  ever  did  in  Town,  far 
removed  from  smoke,  and  gas,  late  hours,  &c. 

Returning  from  Scotland  I  spent  a  few  hours  at 
the  English  Lakes.  Windermere  is  a  mere  duck- 
pool  to  the  Lower  Lake  of  Killarney. 

Please  give  our  united  and  very  kind  regards 
to  Mrs.  Leech.  I  hope  your  children,  those  two 
"  stars  so  blue  and  golden  "  (the  allusion  is  to  their 
pretty  hats  and  hair)  are  blooming  (Hang  it!  stars 
don't  bloom)  are  shining  brightly  after  their  planetary 
visit  to  the  sea. 

I  wonder  whether  you  could  persuade  Lucas  to 
try  change  of  air  for  a  few  days  and  come  here  with 
you.  I  should  be  so  glad  to  see  him. — Believe  me, 
my  flinty  friend,  thine  ever, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HIS   Father,  Samuel  Hole. 

Caunton  Manor, 

September  2,  i860. 

My  dear  Father, — Gentle  Joey  and  I  had  a 
much  more  pleasant  passage  to  Newark  yesterday 
than  we  had  from  Filey  to  Scarborough  on 
Thursday  ;  and  I  found  all  well  on  my  arrival  at 
home.  I  went  out  with  my  gun  for  a  couple  of 
hours,  and  it  makes  one  quite  thankful  to  see  how 


24     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

surprisingly  the  corn,  both  wheat  and  barley,  has 
withstood  the  heavy  rains.  The  young  partridges 
have  not  been  so  successful,  and  bear  no  proportion 
to  the  bread  sauce.  I  saw  old  birds  only  on  Henry's 
farm,  and  far  more  old  ones  than  young  ones 
throughout  my  walk.  At  the  same  time  you  will 
understand  that  from  the  amount  of  standing  corn 
my  survey  was  a  partial  one.  I  killed  six  brace, 
of  which  four  brace  are  old  birds.  I  hope  I 
may  be  wrong  in  my  presentiment  that  it  will  be 
necessary  to  "cease  firing"  this  season  at  a  very 
early  date.  It  seems  like  going  out  at  the  end 
instead  of  the  beginning,  the  old  birds  being 
packed  in  coveys  of  5  and  6.  We  have  had  rain 
this  afternoon  :  the  ground  is  very  damp  under  the 
corn,  and  yet  the  corn  itself  looks  wonderfully 
well. 

My  horse  has  still  inflammation  in  the  near  hind 
leg,  and  recovers  very  slowly.  As  Frank  said, 
"  he's  only  a  very  little  better  "  than  he  was  when 
we  left.  Your  architect's  son  has  been  found  in 
Henry  Mann's  orchard,  experimentalizing  with 
apples,  like  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  His  next  studies 
will,  I  trust,  have  reference  to  rotatory  motion  at 
Southwell. 

Hoping  to  be  with  you  in  400  minutes  after 
you  receive  this,  and  with  love  to  your  children, — 
I  remain,  your  very  affectionate  Son, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


A   DEPRESSING    FALL  25 

To  John  Leech. 

Thursday,  [Fedruarj  21 161]. 

Brick,  Nobleman,  Ace  of  Trumps,  Star  of  Bruns- 
wick (Square),  Top-Sawyer,  Prima  Donna,  Tit-bit, 
Real  Havannah,  Madame  Clignot,  First  Favorite, 
in  two  words,  yo/m  Leech,  I  shall  be  as  pleased  to 
see  you  on  Sunday,  March  3,  and  so  will  my  father, 
as  tho'  we  were  a  brace  of  famished  spiders,  who 
had  just  secured  the  fattest  blue-bottle  of  the  period. 
I'm  afraid  there  is  only  one  train,  which  comes  up 
to  the  scratch  at  Hitchin  for  Newark  on  Sundays  ; 
and  that  leaves  at  9  a.m.  Can  you  make  an  effort 
accordingly  }  We  shall  have  ample  accommodation 
for  "the  Horse  and  his  Rider"  (did  not  our  friend 
Nethercote's  ally,  Sir  F.  Head,  "catch  it"  in  "The 
Saturday  Review  "  })  and  also  for  the  groom  With 
'em  (Aha,  y^  merrie  prieste  ! ). 

Do  stay  a  while  this  journey — there's  a  good  fellow. 

Very  glad  you  were  so  successfully  acquitted  at 
the  Bar.  Those  gates  are  most  dangerous  things. 
I  have  just  come  in  from  hunting,  slightly  depressed, 
the  Young  'Un  having  rushed  into  a  thick  fence  in 
the  presence  of  the  whole  Field,  just  as  we  started, 
distributed  me  over  an  acre  of  grass  as  he  fell,  and 
then  galloped  away. 

We  men  with  wives  (in  prospect)  and  families 
(in  the  womb  of  time)  must  really  be  prudent. 

Hurra  for  March  3  !  shouts  from  his  heart, — Your 
attached  friend,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


26     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

You  must  not  think  me  exigeant  with  regard  to 
B.  &  E./  because  I  have  made  no  request,  nor 
formed  any  expectation,  except  from  their  own 
unsolicited  suggestions  and  promises. 

Hurra!  Bang!  Whack!  Whoop. 

To  HIS  Wife. 

And  shall  I  see  her  face  again  ? 
And  shall  I  hear  her  speak  ? 
I'm  downright  giddy  with  the  thought, 
Good  troth,  I'm  like  to  greet. 

The  parish  perspired  with  joy. 

5.29  to-morrow. 


^  Bradbury  &  Evans,  publishers  of  "A  Little  Tour  in  Ireland." 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Revnoi,J)S  Hole. 
Mav  1 86 1. 


p.  26. 


SOUTHERN    ROSES  27 

To  HIS  Wife. 

ROYAL  HORTICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 

5  d clock  p.m. ^  July  i,  1863. 
MEMORANDUM. 

From  i         To 

Rev.  S.  Reynolds  Hole.  Hls  Wife  Caroline. 


Dearest  Darling, — This  is  the  only  bit  of 
available  paper  I  can  find  in  the  Superintendent's 
office,  and  I  have  about  five  minutes  in  which  to 
fill  it.  The  southern  roses,  fijlly  in  bloom,  have 
beaten  mine,  as  I  thought  they  would,  but  I  am 
quite  as  good  in  quality  tho'  not  in  quantity. 

The  Queen  of  Prussia  and  the  two  Princesses, 
Helena  and  Louise,  came,  while  we  were  judging 
the  roses,  and  I  was  presented  to  them  1  So  if  I 
am  rather  high  when  I  return,  you  will  know  the 
reason.  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  if  you  were 
to  call  me  "  Sir  "  for  a  few  days  at  all  events. 

Hay  fever  entirely  gone,  since  I  took  the 
camphor  this  morning,  and  this  under  a  burning 
sun !  I  shall  make  the  most  of  my  day  ticket  and 
return  by  the  train  which  leaves  between  Jive  and  six 
to-morrow  afternoon.  Please  look  it  out  in  Brad- 
shaw,  and  send  the  brougham  to  meet  us.  Kiss 
the  tweet  a  million,  and  with  love  to  my  Father 
and  the  Marlborough  Slodger,^ — Believe  me,  always 
and  in  my  very  heart,  your  loving  husband, 

Reynolds. 

*  Harry  Francklin,  Mrs.  Plole's  brother. 


28  THE   LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

To  HIS  Wife. 

Garrick  Club,  Septeviber  lo,  1863. 

I  dined  here  last  night  with  Leech,  Millais,  and 
Percival  Leigh,  and  to-night  repeat  the  perfor- 
mance, Thackeray  being  substituted  for  Leigh. 
Leech  and  I  called  on  the  great  man  this  morning, 
and  Miss  Thackeray,  the  authoress  of  "  Elizabeth," 
is  very  anxious  to  make  your  acquaintance. 

Among  the  Dean's  papers  I  have  found  a  few  letters 
from  Thackeray  and  Millais.  He  was  a  friend  of  both, 
and  concerned  himself  with  Millais  in  pressing  for  the 
pension  to  Mrs.  Leech  and  her  son  and  daughter  after 
the  death  of  John  Leech.  Mr.  J.  G.  Millais,  in  the  "Life 
and  Letters"  of  his  father,  has  told  the  story  of  this 
pension.  It  was  secured  for  the  widow  and  children  only 
after  resolute  pressure  on  Lord  Shaftesbury  by  Millais. 
Had  it  not  been  for  Millais's  dogged  persistency,  the 
claim  of  the  Leech  family  might  never  have  been  recog- 
nised by  the  State.  The  incident  has  indeed  its  stern 
warning.  Authors  and  artists,  though  they  delight  and 
refresh  thousands  through  work  which  may  ultimately 
be  reckoned  national  treasure,  cannot  safely  trust  their 
old  age  or  their  family  to  the  mercy  of  the  State. 
They  must  strive,  often  by  labour  day  and  night,  to 
provide  against  workless  days  coming  ;  there  alone  is 
possible  safety. 

Dean  Hole  described,  in  his  contribution  to  John 
Brown's  HorcB  SubsecivcB  and  elsewhere,  his  delight 
in  meeting  and  becoming  a  friend  of  Thackeray. 
Mrs.  Ritchie  tells  me  that  her  father  had  a  great  regard 
for  him.  She  remembers  a  friendly  competition  as  to 
height    between    them   at   a    dinner    given    by   Leech. 


THACKERAY   AS   GIANT  29 

To  settle  it,  they  both  stood  up  back  by  back,  and  were 
measured,  the  result  being  a  dead  heat.  Dean  Hole 
gives  an  account  of  this  in  a  manuscript  called  De 
Aniicitia,  a  fragment  of  an  unpublished  life  of  Leech. 
"The  company  decided  that  there  was  no  difference, 
and  I  remember  that  my  modesty,  which  then  and  there 
fled  away  for  ever,  made  her  last  expiring  speech.  '  Yes, 
the  fiddle-cases  are  of  equal  size,  but  in  His  there's  a 
glorious  violoncello,  and  in  mine  a  dancing-master's  kit.' 
Whilst  this  was  going  on,  Thackeray  told  how  he  once 
went  with  his  friend  '  Jacob  Omnium '  to  see  a  giant, 
and  the  man  at  the  door  of  the  exhibition  inquired 
whether  they  were  '  in  the  business.' "  Hole  describes 
Thackeray  from  the  day  of  their  first  meeting  as  "  my 
hearty,  hospitable,  beloved,  and  honoured  friend."  "  It 
was  a  great  intellectual  treat  to  meet  .  .  .  Thackeray 
and  Millais,  Holman  Hunt  and  Tenniel,  Dasent  and 
Wingrove  Cooke  and  Knox,  Mark  Lemon  and  Shirley 
Brooks,  and  dear  old  Percival  Leigh."  At  about  this 
time  Hole  also  met  Charles  Dickens,  and  there  are  a 
few  of  Dickens's  letters  among  his  papers  ;  but  they  lost 
sight  of  each  other  in  later  life. 


To  HIS  Wife. 

7  St.  James's  Place, 
4.40  P.M.,  {^November  4/64]. 

My  darling  Wife, — After  a  dreary  journey 
alone  and  feeling  much  depressed,  I  have  reached 
my  lodgings  safely,  and  hasten  to  send  you  the 
promised  assurance  of  my  arrival. 

I  am  now  going  down  to  Bouverie  Street  to 
enquire    about    the    arrangements    for    to-morrow. 


30     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

Everything  seems  sadly  to  remind  me  of  my  lost 
friend,  but  I  will  not  be  low-spirited.  Dejection 
would  be  a  poor  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one 
whose  mission  and  chief  delight  it  was  to  make 
people  happy. 

With  dear  love  to  my  father  and  my  little  boy 
(the  sun  that  makes  our  home  always  bright — the 
rose  looking  in  at  the  window), — Believe  me,  my 
heart's  Love,  your  fond  and  faithful  husband, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HIS  Wife. 

7  St.  James's  Place, 
Wednesday,  9.20  a.m.,  [^January  19/65]. 

After  I  wrote  to  my  darling  yesterday,  I  went 
to  the  British  Museum,  where  the  Speaker's  kind 
introduction  secured  me  every  attention,  and  a 
small  waggon  (literally)  of  books  which  I  wished  to 
see.^  I  was  quite  bewildered  at  first,  but  settled 
down  to  my  work  shortly,  and  looked  thro'  some 
folios  of  caricatures,  to  give  me  some  idea  of  the 
style  of  those  humorous  artists  who  preceded  dear 
John  Leech. 

At  one  o'clock  I  went  at  Shirley  Brooks's  request 
to  see  the  christening  of  two  of  his  boys,  and  then 
to  a  dejeuner  at  the  Bedford  Hotel — a  horrid 
nuisance,  oyster  soup,  ices,  and  champagne  in  the 

1  For   his   proposed    Life   of    Leech.      The    Speaker   was    Lord 
Ossington. 


LEECH'S    EARLY    LIFE  31 

middle  of  the  day.  Then  I  went  to  call  on  Henry 
Bristowe,  and  was  kept  so  long  waiting  for  him  that 
I  had  no  time  to  fill  my  engagement  with  Millais, 
but  I  dined  with  Adams,  Leech's  oldest  friend,  and 
he  can  give  more  information  than  any  other  man 
concerning  his  early  life.  He  is  going  to  send  me 
all  his  correspondence,  sketches,  &c.,  and  seems  to 
sympathise  in  my  project  with  all  his  heart. 

Nethercote  came  up  yesterday,  and  joined  us  in 
the  evening. 

This  morning  I  have  the  happiness  of  your  dear 
note  and  of  hearing  that  "Dadda's  boo-eyed  booty" 
is  recovered  from  his  illness.  Bless  him,  and  kiss 
him.  Also  a  note  from  the  Squire,  congratulating 
me  on  Benedict's  successful  d^but  in  Leicestershire. 

This  morning  I  am  going  to  have  a  long  set-to  in 
the  Museum,  after  which  I  shall  call  on  Mrs.  Leech. 
— Your  loving  husband, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HIS  Wife. 

7  St.  James's  Place, 
Thtirsday,  [January  19,  1865]. 

I  immensely  enjoyed  my  sweet  Darling's  note 
this  morning,  and  kissed  the  "affec'^  wife,"  as  also 
the  letter  from  my  son,  which  I  think  shows  great 
talent.     Speaking  of  Talent,   I   am  very  glad  you 

enjoyed  the  dance  at  Newark,  and  will  shoot 

as  soon  as  I  get  home.     You  were  quite  right  not 


32     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

to  go  to  a  public  ball  without  your  husband,  though 
you  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  mightily  amused  at 
the  gymnastics  of  the  adversary. 

Hurra  for  home  to-morrow.  You  had  better 
send  the  brougham  for  Louis  and  me  and  the 
luggage.  I  have  all  my  shopping  to  do  and  more 
literary  inquiries  and  investigations,  so  don't  blame 
a  hasty  note.  I  saw  poor  Mrs.  Leech  last  evening. 
She  does  look  so  sweetly  sorrowful  in  her  widow's 
dress  that  it  is  heartbreaking  to  see  her  and  her 
fatherless  children.  I  had  a  long  conversation  with 
her,  and  was  very  very  pleased  to  hear  from  his 
wife  that  Millais  and  I  were  the  dearest  friends 
he  had.  She  inquired  about  you,  my  father,  and 
Tweets. 

I    dined    last    night    with    the    A.'s — Salmon    at 

5/9  a   lb.    (so   R said).      Turkeys  as   big   as 

Benedict,  Ice  in  every  form,  Champagne,  Hock 
and  Claret  worth  3/6  a  drop.  But  I  have  time 
for   no  more  at  present,  and  remain, 

Your  loving  Husband. 


To  HIS  Wife. 

7  St  James's  Place, 
Tuesday ,  January  17,  [1865,  1855,  or  1905]. 

We  had  a  pleasant  journey  to  London  yesterday 
(the  train  was  late,  or  I  should  never  have  seen  it, 
and  I  fancy  our  clocks  are  slow),  the  gallant  S 


THE    LEECH    PENSION  33 

beginning  to  eat  and  drink  as  soon  as  we  left 
Newark,  and  following  up  that  occupation  through- 
out the  journey,  except  when  he  was  asleep.  At 
Peterborough  we  saw  the  shed  in  which  the  engine 
burst  last  week,  smashing  the  roof  to  pieces,  and 
actually  forcing  a  poor  boy  through  a  brick  wall,  and 
dashing  him  to  pieces  20  yards  from  where  he  stood. 

I  did  not  write  to  you  yesterday,  as  our  train  was 
late.  Went  to  Lincoln  &  Bennett's  to  have  a  foot 
or  so  taken  from  the  brims  of  my  hat  (the  one  1 
bought  at  Birmingham,  and  which  must  have  been 
made  for  the  member  of  that  place,  John  Bright), 
and  coming  back  met  Millais,  who  tells  me  that 
he  hopes  poor  Mrs.  Leech  will  have  about  ;!^500 
a  year.  I  am  going  with  him  this  afternoon  to 
the  house  of  our  lost  friend. 

I  dined  with  Shirley  Brooks  and  had  a  long 
literary  talk  with  him.  Deeben  is  not  in  London, 
and  I  fear  I  shall  not  see  him  at  present.  In  the 
evening  I  went  at  "half  time"  to  the  St.  James's 
Theatre,  where  I  saw  Charles  Mathews  and  a 
Spectacle,  or  Burlesque,  which,  by  its  extreme 
dullness  and  debility,  got  me  into  fine  condition 
for  bed. 

I  have  got  Clark's  First  Floor,  and  am  as  com- 
fortable and  cheerful  as  a  bachelor  can  be,  but  I 
don't  feel  all  there,  as  the  saying  is. 

— Your  loving  husband,  Reyn. 

c 


34  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

To  HIS  Wife. 

7  St.  James's  Place,  S.W., 

Monday,  3.30,  [Apri/  1865.] 

You  will  like  to  know  that  I  had  a  prosperous 
voyage,  only  touching  at  those  havens,  Grantham, 
Peterborough,  and  Huntingdon,  and  anchored  in 
the  port  of  London  about  10  a.m.  I  called  on 
Miss  Leech  and  had  a  chat  with  her  and  her 
father,  and  then  spent  the  morning  at  Christie  and 
Manson's,  to  which  place  I  am  about  to  return. 

It  is  a  most  interesting  Exhibition^  and  includes 
specimens  of  the  great  artist's  genius  of  every 
description,  from  the  merest  pencil  sketch  to  the 
finished  picture  in  oils.  I  met  the  Speaker,  who 
wishes  me  to  buy  two  or  three  small  things  for  him. 
I  have  been  to  Emmanuel's,  and  they  will  send  you 
a  pair  of  earrings  by  this  post,  which  I  think  very 
pretty,  and  hope  you  will  like — price  Three  Guineas. 
Write  to  me  and  you  shall  hear  more  worthily 
of, — Your  loving  husband,  Old  Reyn. 


The  exhibition  brought  together  many  of  Leech's  chief 
friends  and  colleagues.  Among  them  would  be  Shirley 
Brooks,  the  editor  of  Punch.  Hole  was  a  diner  at  the 
Punch  table  and  an  occasional  contributor  to  its  columns. 
Writing  to  Mr.  M.  H.  Spielmann  about  the  Punch  dinner 
of  February  15,  i860,  Hole  said:  "There  was  such  a 

*  The  exhibition  was  one  of  John  Leech's  works. 


A   "PUNCH"    DINNER  35 

clash  and  glitter  of  two-edge  swords,  cutting  humour 
and  pointed  wit  (to  say  nothing  of  the  knives  and  forks), 
the  sallies  of  the  combatants  were  so  incessant  and 
intermixed,  the  field  of  battle  so  enveloped  in  smoke, 
that  there  was  only  a  kaleidoscopic  confusion  of  brilliant 
colours  in  the  vision  of  the  spectators  when  the  signal 
was  given  to  cease  firing."  Among  Hole's  "Punch" 
friends  were  Tom  Taylor,  Sir  John  Tenniel — who  has 
written  me  a  charming  note  recalling  those  old  days — 
and  Shirley  Brooks,  Hole  must  have  written  a  good 
many  letters  to  Shirley  Brooks,  but  these,  like  most  of 
the  letters  to  Leech,  are  not  to  be  found.  Mr.  Layard, 
who  is  writing  Shirley  Brooks's  life,  tells  me  that  all 
Brooks's  letters  and  papers  were  destroyed  or  scattered 
at  his  death.  I  give  a  few  extracts  from  Shirley  Brooks's 
letters  to  Hole,  relating  chiefly  to  Leech. 

"6  Kent  Terrace,  Regent's  Park, 
'•'■February  17,  1862. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  John  Leech  got  ofif  a  note  to 
you  last  night  to  tell  you  that  we  duly  attended  Com- 
mittee, a  very  large  one,  and  that  you  were  unanimously 
elected.  He  and  I  dined  together  afterwards  and  drank 
to  the  health  of  the  new  member.  When  do  you  come 
up  to  take  the  oath  and  your  seat  ?  " 

'"'December  14,  1864. 

"  One  thing  I  wanted  to  mention  is  that  I  see  Holten, 
of  Piccadilly,  advertises  a  memoir  of  John  Leech.  I 
shall  get  it  and  send  it  you,  with  any  comments  that  may 
occur  to  me,  I  am  told,  but  do  not  know,  that  the 
author  is  Sam  Lucas.  The  only  thing  that  inclines  me 
to  doubt  this  is  that  I  think  he  would  have  felt  that  as 
editor  of  '  Once  a  Week,'  such  a  life  (being  the  memoir 
too  of  a  former  proprietor  and  coadjutor)  should  have 
appeared  in  that  journal.  .  .  .  Dickens  would,  I  am  sure, 


36  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

give  you  any  assistance,  but  I  do  not  know  that  he  can 
give  much.  He  burns  all  letters,  enraged  at  the  way  in 
which  such  things  are  used  by  the  unauthorised.  But  I 
make  no  doubt  that  he  could  write  you  a  capital  letter  of 
his  own." 

"^/r// 20,  [1865]. 

"Are  you  coming  up  to  the  Sale?  If  so,  mind  that 
we  meet.  You  will  see  the  'fine  Roman  hand'  in  the 
advertisement  in  the  back  of  '  Punch,'  also  in  the  inside, 
also  in  the  catalogue,  for  I  did  not  like  to  leave  his  fame 
to  auctioneer-eloquence.  .  .  .  The  enclosed  from  an 
Australian  lady  friend  may  amuse  you.  You  see  heroism 
ever  flourishes.  Any  explanation  may  be  satisfactory. 
How  he  would  have  looked,  reading. — Ever  yours, 

"  Shirley  Brooks." 

"  He "  in  the  last  sentence  means  Leech.  The  en- 
closure is  from  a  letter  recalling  an  instance  of  Hole's 
presence  of  mind  and  pluck  :  "  The  name  of  the  clergy- 
man who  performed  poor  dear  Leech's  funeral  service  is 
very  well  known  to  me.  Reynolds  Hole  used  to  visit  a 
house  close  to  my  poor  father's,  and  I  used  to  hear  a 

good  deal  about  him.     He  saved ,  our  neighbour, 

from  being  burnt  to  death."  A  woman's  dress  caught 
fire.  She  must  have  been  burnt  to  death,  had  not  Hole 
come  to  her  rescue  and  put  out  the  flames  at  the  risk  of 
his  own  life. 

The  two  friends  had  not  lost  touch  with  one  another 
eight  years  later.  I  find  Shirley  Brooks  writing  then  : 
"  Your  well-remembered  handwriting  was  very  welcome. 
Thanks  for  the  suggestion.  I  hope  to  do  something 
of  the  kind,  ere  long,  and,  in  short,  to  re-issue  the 
'  Noggletons.'  Your  last  book  was  sent  me  at  the  end 
of  the  year,  and  we   read   it  with  very  great  pleasure. 


LEECH    AT   SIXTEEN  37 

The  sketch  of  the  young  gardener  is,  meo  judicio,  as 
clear,  and  fresh,  and  pleasant  a  creation  as  I  have 
seen  for  a  long  time.  I  hope  your  *  impulses '  will 
continue  to  send  you  to  your  inkstand — that  form 
of  'dipping'  is  permitted  to  an  Anglican  clergyman, 
though  he  ought  not  to  turn  Anabaptist,  like  the 
Hon.  and  Revd.  Noel,  to  whose  long  and  mellifluous 
discourses  I  was  a  victim  in  my  boyhood." 


To  HIS  Wife. 

7  St  James's  Place,  S.W., 
Tuesday  inot'iting,  [^April  25,  1865]. 

I  had  such  a  happy  evening  yesterday,  dining 
with  the  father,  mother,  and  five  sisters  of  my  dear 
friend,^  and  seeing  the  most  interesting  and  precious 
memorials  of  him,  sketches  made  by  him  when  he 
was  hardly  more  than  a  year  older  than  our  pet, 
letters  to  his  parents  when  he  first  went  to  school, 
the  first  drawings  of  his  boyhood,  the  first  that 
were  ever  published,  and  many  more  art  treasures. 
A  coach  and  four  drawn  and  painted  when  he  was 
7  years  old  is  wonderfully  full  of  spirit  and  power, 
and  at  16  you  would  call  him  a  finished  artist. 
Miss  Leech  gave  me  a  coloured  sketch  done  by  him 
at  that  age,  which  shows  the  highest  talent,  and 
which  I  shall  have  engraved  for  my  book.  I  am 
going  again  for  an  hour  this  evening  to  make  some 
notes,  &c. 

*  John  Leech. 


38  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

You  will  be  grieved  to  hear  that  I  am  very- 
comfortable  in  my  little  parlour  and  that  I  have  only 
lost  my  way  once  at  present.  But  I  am  going  now 
to  have  my  hair  cut  in  the  Burlington  Arcade  and 
quite  expect  to  find  myself  at  Greenwich.  After 
that  I  am  engaged  for  an  early  lunch  with  Lucas,  a 
great  literary  swell  of  "The  Times"  newspaper, 
and  with  him  to  the  Sale,  of  which  I  will  report 
before  I  close  this. 

A  lovely  day  for  G 's  wedding,  and  I  hope 

emblematic  of  a  bright  sunny  life  for  her.  I  hope 
Harry's  new  breeches  gave  that  tone  to  the  cere- 
mony which  he  expected,  and  that  his  new  tie  made 
it  impossible  for  the  bridesmaids  to  eat  their  break- 
fasts. Did  not  the  dresses  look  as  if  they  wanted 
a  few  flowers  on  the  skirts  ? 

5.30  P.M. — The  Sale  has  gone  off  most  success- 
fully. The  pencil  sketch^  of  Joe  Johnson  and  my 
Carrie  sold  for  Twelve  Guineas. 

I  have  only  time  to  add  that  I  am  as  ever, — 
Your  loving  husband,  Reyn. 

To  HIS  Wife. 

7  St.  James's  Place, 
Thursday,  \^April2'j,  1865]. 

A  letter  from  the  Revd.  Reynolds  Hole,  in  a 
gasping  and  perspiring  condition,  having  just 
come    from   the    summit   of  a   photographer's 

^  A  famous  hunting  sketch  by  Leech,  in  which  Mrs.  Hole  is  one  of 
the  figures. 


'A 


56o  FAHRENHEIT  39 

establishment,  two  miles  above  the  level  of 
the  sea  (thermometer  560  Fahrenheit),  to  his 
wife  Caroline. 

O  Caroline, — Don't  expect  much,  for  I  can't  do 
it.  Thanks  for  your  note.  I  love  you  as  much  as 
a  dissolving  clergyman  can  love. 

Ice  me,  Clark,  and  let  me  try  to  be  serious. 


(Interval  of  ten  minutes.) 

I  am  very  glad  that  poor  Dermot's  ^  sufferings 
are  over. 

(Soda-water.) 

I  am  going  to  the  House  of  Commons. 
(Fanned  by  Mrs.  Clark  for  20  minutes.) 

Slough  to-morrow — Home  Saturday,  Newark 
3.17,  and  will  take  fly  if  you  do  not  send. — Always, 
that  is  to  say,  always  when  hot  as  now,  your 
steaming  husband,  Reynolds. 

P.S. — M7(si  bring  it  something.  Will  buy  fish 
for  Coopelow  Banquet. 

^  A  horse  at  Caunton. 


40  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 


To  HIS  Wife. 

Sale,  nr.  Manchester, 
{July  1868?]. 

Our  Dearest, — We  won  everything  we  tried 
for  yesterday  :  all  first  prizes. 

Grand  shows,  both  Horticultural  and  Agricultural 
— particulars  when  we  meet.  Daddy   Hole. 

The  ten  letters  which  follow  were  written  to  a  fellow- 
archer,  sportsman,  and  gardener,  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Ellison, 
who  permits  them  to  be  used.  I  have  kept  together  this 
series  of  letters,  as  they  are  of  the  same  character 
throughout.  The  spirit  of  frolic  in  which  the  friends 
corresponded  was  kept  up  almost  to  the  end,  quip,  pun, 
or  personality  occurring  in  every  letter.  In,  I  think, 
about  the  last  letter  which  Mr,  Ellison  got,  the  Dean 
described  himself  as  confined  to  his  room,  "a  Prisoner 
with  a  Chill-on,"  after  fulfilling  a  long  series  of  ubiqui- 
tous engagements  "which  no  rational  being  within  a 
few  weeks  of  his  80th  year  would  have  undertaken." 


To  THE  Rev.  C.  C.   Ellison. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark. 
"  This  day  is  called  the  Feast  of  Crispian." 
1869. 

Charlie  is  my  darling,  and  it  is  good  of  him  to 
ask  me  to  meet  his  royal  brother  of  Basan,  who 
is  also   King  of  the    Pippins,^  but  alas !    I   cannot 

^  Dr.  Hogg,  editor  of  X\\^  Journal  of  Horticulture. 


AN    INTRODUCTION  41 

come.  We  go  to  Thurgarton  to-morrow,  en  route 
to  Gonalston,  from  whence  we  attend  the  Notting- 
ham Infirmary  Meeting  and  return  on  Saturday. 
Give  my  love  to  Hogg  and  tell  him  that  if  he  will 
pay  me  a  visit  on  Friday,  I  shall  rejoice  to  come 
home  a  day  sooner  than  I  intended.  Try  to  per- 
suade him,  and  come  with  him. 

I  was  much  pleased  with  the  notice  of  your 
garden,  altho'  the  poor  fellow  who  wrote  it  told 
me  that  you  set  him  to  write  at  the  end  of  your 
workshop,  where  the  target  is,  and  stood  opposite 
with  an  arrow  drawn  to  the  full,  threatening  to 
shoot  him,  if  he  didn't  make  the  compliments  hot 
and  strong.  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  the  Cock  of  Pomona 

of  the  County  of  Lincoln. 

A  Testimonial  for  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Ellison. 

Caunton  Manor, 

Jictie  I,  1 87 1. 

This  is  to  certify  that  altho'  the  bearer,  C.  C. 
Ellison,  has  the  lineaments  of  a  Garotter  and  the 
manners  of  a  rhinoceros,  he  has  never,  to  the  best  of 
my  belief,  been  convicted  in  a  court  of  Justice. 

(Signed)         S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

"This  was  my  introduction  to  George  Paul,"  writes 
Mr.  Ellison,  "  delivered  personally  amidst  Waterer's 
Rhododendrons.  George  Paul's  face  was  a  study  when 
he  read  it." 


42  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

To  THE  Rev.  C,  C.  Ellison. 

From  the  longest  man  on  the  longest  day  to  his 

Dear  Old  Charlie, — Will  you  kindly  take  my 
father  on  the  29th  of  June,  and  go  with  Henry 
Merry  weather  to  judge  at  Wishead  ?  I  have  a 
notice  this  morning  of  a  meeting  in  London,  which 
I  am  very  anxious  to  attend,  and,  as  I  shall  be 
in  Town,  am  anxious  to  transfer  my  engagement 
at  Wishead. 

Roses  are  a  coming  on  but  I  dare  not  go  to  look 
at  them  until  night,  as  the  heat  brings  me  into  a 
miserable  state  of  Hay  Fever.  Mrs.  Wordsworth 
paid  our  Tea-roses  which  she  saw,  when  dining 
here  on  Monday,  the  doubtful  compliment  of  calling 
them  Peonies. 

I  hope  to  get  you  down  and  kick  that  old  'ed 
of  yours  as  nearly  off  as  may  be  at  the  first  Show 
at  which  we  compete,  instead  of  going  to  the  Judge 
and  saying,  "  It's  no  use  showing  variety,  if  this  is 
to  be  the  result."  First  or  second,  I  am, — Yours 
heartily.  Old  Reyn. 

To  THE  Rev.  C.  C.  Ellison. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
May  19,  1873. 

My  dear  Charlie, — They  say  that  you  have 
been  very  unwell,  and  I  want  to  hear  that  you  are 


STEPHENSON'S   ADVICE  43 

so  no  more,  but  as  sound  and  robust  as  one  of 
your  prize  onions.  You  must  be  content  to  do 
rather  less,  and  not  let  the  circular  saw  of  your 
Brain  go  such  a  pace  as  to  set  your  timber  on 
fire. 

And  the  word  "  fire  "  reminds  me  of  old  Stephen- 
son's advice,  when  people  talked  about  the  advan- 
tages of  medicine  or  bleeding.  "  Don't  waste  your 
steam,  rake  out  your  fire." 

How's  the  garden  ?  I  am  turning  mine  com- 
pletely round,  the  entrance  being  now  near  the 
Church,  and  eventually  shall  have  a  very  pretty 
and  peaceful  spot,  in  which  to  meditate  as  an  old 
man,  should  God  so  will.  The  budded  roses  are 
sadly  starved,  but  a  genial  change  would  set  them 
growing,  and  I  never  had  so  good  a  lot. 

The  Walkers  of  Averham  and  others  have 
formed  a  new  Archery  Society,  to  be  called  the 
Robin  Hoods,  and  to  meet  in  Pic  Nic  fashion  at 
private  houses.  The  first  gathering  is  at  Clifton 
in  July.  Is  it  too  far  for  you,  or  shall  I  propose 
you  ?  They  have  one  rule,  which  is  new  to  me, 
but  I  think  a  good  one, — a  prize  winner  loses  a  ring 
every  time  he  wins,  until  he  is  beaten,  and  then 
gains  a  ring  on  each  defeat. 

Must  go  back  to  Roses.  Mad""^  Lacharne,  Thiers, 
Etienne  Levet,  Lyonnais,  Mad""^  George  Schwartz, 
are  all  worth  having. — Yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


44     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 


To  THE  Rev.  C.  C   Ellison. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
January  5,  1875. 

Dear  Old  Charlie, — Never  smoke,  when  you 
have  six  spades  in  hand,  and  then  you  won't  choke 
yourself,  nor  singe  your  bushy  whiskers,  nor  want 
to  shoot  poor  harmless  little  wrens. 

Mens  Sana  hi  corpore  sano  to  you  and  yours  in 
1875!  May  there  be  no  grub  in  your  Roses,  but 
abundance  in  your  larder !  May  you  handle  bow, 
bat,  and  breech-loader  as  deftly  as  ever,  and  be 
as  earnest  and  true  withal,  in  all  the  duties  of  your 
active  and  useful  life. 

May  your  happiness  like  your  family  be  ever 
increasing,  and  may  you  ever  reciprocate  the 
hearty  regard  and  affection  of,  —  Your  sincere 
friend,  S.   Reynolds  Hole. 


To  THE  Rev.  C.  C.  Ellison. 

» 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
July  16,  1875. 

Dear  Old  Charlie, — We  dine  at  Averham  on 
Monday,  but  shall  be  delighted  to  welcome  you 
and  party  on  Tuesday.  As  I  am  to  report  at 
a    meeting   of  Archdeacons    and    Rural   Deans    at 


MANURE    FOR    ROSES  45 

Lincoln  on  Wednesday,  we  might  return  to- 
gether on  the  morning  of  that  day.  Roses  damp 
and  dishevelled,  but  the  plants  are  grand.  Are  you 
disposed  to  join  a  Little  Company,  Limited,  which 
I  am  organising  to  promote  the  punching  of  George 
Paul's  'ed,  the  gouging  of  his  eyes  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  a  pair  of  new  ones,  which  may  enable 
him  to  distinguish  between  Etienne  Levet  and 
Blairii  No.  90. 

I  could  show  a  magnificent  48  this  morning  if 
the  Judges  did  not  mind  a  little  repetition  such  as 
14  M^"^  Eugenie  Verdier,  &c. — Ever  yours, 

Old  Reyn. 


To  THE  Rev.  C.  C.  Ellison. 

Caunton  Manor. 

Dear  Elli, — I  am  much  pleased  to  hear  of 
your  good  conduct,  as  one  of  my  pupils,  and  of 
your  obtaining  a  prize.  Continue  in  the  paths  of 
virtue  and  industry,  wheeling  upon  them  large 
quantities  of  farm-yard  manure  to  your  rose-trees, 
and  you  must  ultimately  win  the  highest  and  most 
honourable  of  all  titles,  the  title  of  a  good  Rosarian. 
May  the  aphis  of  difficulty  and  the  mildew  of  dis- 
appointment always  disappear  before  the  syringe 
of  your  assiduity  and  the  sulphur  of  your  per- 
severance. 

I   shall   rejoice   to   see   my   Black   Prince  in  the 


46     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

Tournament  on  Thursday,  tho'  I  scarcely  hope  to 
be  myself  in  the  Lists.  It  is  here  the  worst  crop 
of  roses  which  I  have  seen  for  years. 

I  should  recommend  to  your  friend,  Miss  Cook- 
son,  the  following  Twelve  Rose-trees  for  Pots  : — 

Monsieur  Woolfield. 
Victor  Verdier. 
Monsieur  Noman. 
Baroness  Rothschild. 
Souvenir  d'un  Ami,  Tea. 
Celine  Forestier  Noisette. 
Charles  Lawson. 
John  Hopper. 
jyjadme  chadcs  Wood. 
Jules  Margottin. 
M""^  Clemence  Joigneaux. 
Marie  Beauman. 


To  THE  Rev.  C.  C.   Ellison. 

Welbeck  Abbey,  Worksop, 
July  22,  1882. 

Reverend  Sir, — Having  been  recently  appointed 
by  the  Rev.  Canon  Hole  his  Secretary  in  the  Straw- 
berry Department,  I  am  honoured  with  his  instruc- 
tions to  inform  you,  that  if  you  cannot  succeed  in 
producing  the  Green  Tip  on  your  British  Queens 
by  shading  them  from  the  sun  and  general  mis- 
management, you  must   either   avail   yourself  of  a 


STRAWBERRIES  47 

paint  box,  or  poison  the  Judges,  who  insist  upon 
the  tint  in  question. — Believe  me  to  be,  Reverend 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

Scott  Portland. 


"At  the  Newark  Show,"  writes  Mr.  Ellison,  "the 
judges  awarded  the  first  prize  for  'Oscar,'  rejecting  a 
splendid  dish  of  *  British  Queen '  because  they  had  no 
'  green  tips,'  and  so  could  not  be  '  B.  Q.'  /  had  objected 
to  showing  'Oscar'  as  a  duplicate,  as  it  would  have  no 
chance  with  the  '  B.  Q.,'  when  poor  Bentley  said  :  '  You 
never  can  tell  what  fools  you  may  have  as  judges.'  So 
*  Oscar  '  went  and  won." 


To  THE  Rev.  C.  C.  Ellison. 

Caunton  Manor. 

Dear  Old  Charlie, — I  cannot  be  at  Lincoln 
before  5.40  p.m.  to-morrow,  and  am  very  sorry  to 
give  you  so  much  trouble.  But  you  won't  mind 
it,  for  there  are  not  many  who  know  and  care  for 
you  as  I  do. 

I  only  returned  from  an  8  days'  mission  on 
Monday,  and  I  preached  or  spoke  some  25  times 
in  the  same,  so  that  I  am  very  glad  to  take  a 
subordinate  part  at  Lincoln. 

How  strange  our  lives  are,  and  how  good  God 
is  to  permit  idle  sharks  like  me  to  come  to  their 
senses  and  try  to  do  something  for  Him. 

I  shall  have  a  good  deal  to  do  in  preparation  at 


48  THE   LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

Lincoln,   but  I   shall   try  hard  for  a  Constitutional 
to  Bracebridge  now  and  then. — Yours  lovingly, 

Reynolds  Hole, 

Canon  of  Littcolnj  and  winner  of  the  second^ 
prize  at  the  fonathan  Rose  Show. 

To  THE  Rev.  C.  C.   Ellison. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
October  26,  1899. 

My  dear  Charlie, — I  am  not  oroine  to  "die  of 
a  rose  in  aromatic  pain,"  at  present. 

I  suppose  the  "some  one"  must  have  been 
referring  to  a  quotation,  which  I  made  from 
Lord  Brougham's  description  of  a  rose  in  his 
garden  at  Cannes,  named  "  General  Shablekene," 
which  he  declares  to  be  the  grandest  rose  in  the 
world. 

I  had  a  most  delightful  visit  to  your  county  last 
month,  at  Revesby  Abbey,  when  I  saw  the  best 
collection  of  trees  and  shrubs  which  has  ever 
gladdened  my  eyes, — all  planted  by  the  owner  in 
the  last  half  century. 

I  was  eating  oysters  yesterday  at  Colchester 
with  Cardinal  Vaughan,  and  not  many  days  before 
receiving  a  deputation  from  the  Salvation  Army. 
Few  men  have  had  a  more  varied  experience  than, 
— Yours  always  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

^  Mr.  Ellison  won  the  "Silver  Cup"  from  him. 


OYSTERS 


49 


Dean  Hole  was  twice  a  speaker  at  the  Colchester 
Oyster  Feast,  and  Mr.  W.  Gurney  Benham  has  sent 
some  notes  about  his  speeches.     The  first  time  was  in 

The  Walrus  and  the  Carpenter. 


Dean  Hole  and  Cardinal  Vaughan. 


1893,  and  the  second,  referred  to  in  the  letter  above, 
in  October  1899;  and  Sir  F.  C.  Gould  has  kindly 
allowed  us  to  reproduce  the  clever  sketch  he  made 
for   the    Westminster   Gazette   on    the    second    occasion. 

D 


50     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

Proposing  the  toast  of  Agriculture  and  Commerce, 
Hole  told  the  story  of  Lucy  Gray  and  the  curate  out  of 
his  element,  which,  as  it  is  often  told  wrongly,  may  be 
given  here  :  "A  young  curate,  a  good  fellow,  but  very 
shy  and  bashful,  came  into  a  parish  which  was  occupied 
by  Yorkshire  yeomen,  who  bred  horses  and  rode  them 
— and  sometimes  had  steeplechases.  He  did  not  get 
on,  and  was  very  much  depressed.  One  day  the  clerk 
said  to  him,  "  If  you  please,  sir,  the  prayers  of  the 
Church  are  desired  for  Lucy  Gray."  "Very  well,"  said 
the  curate  ;  and  at  every  service  in  which  the  prayer 
for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  was  offered,  the 
Church  was  asked  to  pray  for  Lucy  Gray,  till  one 
morning  the  clerk  rushed  into  the  vestry  and  said, 
"You  needn't  pray  for  Lucy  Gray  any  more — she's 
won  the  steeplechase."  "  Have  I  been  praying  for  a 
horse  ? "  asked  the  curate  ;  "  I  shall  leave  the  place." 
But  the  clerk  said,  "  You'll  do  nowt  o'  sort,  sir ;  I 
thought  little  of  ye  when  ye  came,  but  now  ye've  got 
the  hearts  of  them  all,  and  ye  can  do  what  ye  like  in 
this  parish,  since  ye  took  to  praying  for  that  horse." 


To  Charles  Turner  (of  Slough). 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
May  13,  1870. 

My  dear  Old  Friend, — Your  two  letters  reached 
me  this  morning.  "Safe  with  his  Saviour"  were 
the  first  words  of  comfort  which  came  from  my 
sorrowful  heart.  And  yet,  though  we  know  that 
the  lamb  is  in  the  Good  Shepherd's  arms,  we 
cannot  but  mourn  that  he  is  gone — such  a  sweet, 


JOE  51 

engaging,  winning  little  child.  I  used  to  hope,  as 
he  sat  on  my  knee,  that  I  might  see  him  here  and 
my  own  boy  in  happy  friendship  among  God's 
beautiful  flowers,  such  as  our  own  has  been.  That 
hope  is  gone,  but  there  is  a  better  and  brighter 
already  come  in  its  place.  That  we  may  see  him 
again  in  the  land  where  the  flowers  fade  not,  and 
where  there  shall  be  no  death.  I  have  his  photo- 
graph, which  I  shall  prize,  always  before  me — a 
beautiful  boy  upon  earth,  but  far  more  beautiful 
among  angels  now.  His  mother  will  know  how 
sincere  are  my  sympathies  with  her,  and  that 
my  prayers  will  be  with  hers  and  with  yours 
for  that  divine  strength  which  only  can  sustain  us 
in  these  overwhelming  sorrows.  I  would  suggest 
for  the  card,  if  not  too  late,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure 
in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 

Believe  me,  dear  friend,   in  your  sorrow  and  in 
your  joy, — Your  most  loving 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


This  letter  relates  to  the  death  of  Charles  Turner's 
little  boy,  to  whom  Hole  was  godfather.  Hole  had 
among  his  personal  friends  most  of  the  leading  florists, 
to  whom  he  often  refers  in  his  books. 


The  letters  to  Joe  Birley,  a  few  of  which  follow 
here,  cover  more  than  thirty  years,  from  early  in  the 
'seventies  to  1904.  A  diary  of  the  most  active  part  of 
the  Dean's  life  might  be  almost  compiled  out  of  them. 


52     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

Birley,  a  Caunton  lad,  began  work  as  the  shepherd's 
boy,  and  now  fills  a  most  responsible  position  on  the 
line.  His  career  is  a  very  good  example  of  the  way  in 
which  character  will  lift  a  man  in  life. 


To  Joe  Birley. 

Caunton  Manor,  December  \,  1872. 

Dear  Joe, — I  am  very  glad  to  hear  that  you  are 
happy  in  your  new  mode  of  life,  and  shall  always 
have  pleasure  in  receiving  a  letter  from  one  in 
whom  I  have  taken  an  interest  ever  since  he  was  a 
"Top-per"!  Above  all,  I  must  remember  you  in 
my  prayers,  for  you  will  no  doubt  have  many 
temptations.  At  the  same  time,  I  have  a  good 
faith,  that,  with  God's  Blessing  and  His  means  of 
grace,  you  will  not  let  the  world  or  the  evil  one 
win  your  heart  from  our  dear  Saviour. 

I  have  not  yet  found  a  house-servant  to  suit 
me,  but  I  am  [in]  treaty  with  Leighton,  who  came 
with  Mr.  Turner  from  Scotland,  and  was  the 
most  respectable-looking  servant  I  ever  saw  in  his 
employ. 

Ward  came  home  with  his  wife  last  Thursday, 
and  lives  in  the  house  occupied  by  Widow  Wiles. 

Poor  came  to  me  just    before  she  left,   and 

complained  that  the  man  who  had  promised  to 
marry  her  had  proved  himself  both  a  rogue  and  a 
fool.     A  rogue  he  might  be,  but  it  by  no  means 


GARDEN   PLANS  53 

proved    him   a    fool    in    my    opinion    because    he 
declined  to  marry  Mrs.  . 

We  are  going  to  make  great  alterations  in  the 
garden  next  spring.  A  new  road  thro'  the  stack- 
yard, and  the  entrance  to  the  house  to  be  through 
the  present  Rose  Garden,  thus  doing  away  with 
the  old  carriage  drive,  which  will  be  grassed 
over. 


— Believe  me  to  be,  your  sincere  friend, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Joe  Birlev. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
September  i,  1882. 

Dear  Joe, — We  were  much  disappointed  that 
you  could  not  be  with  us  to-day,  tho'  you  had  no 
great  loss,  as  we  were  driven  home  by  the  rain, 
and  compelled  to  cease  firing  at  i  p.m.,  when  we 
had  bagged  14  brace  and  5  hens.  Had  the  weather 
been  propitious,  I  think  we  should  have  reached 
30  brace. 

I  hope  you  may  be  able  to  come  next  week,  as 
we  go  to  Scotland  on  the  1 2th  and  shall  not  return 
until  the  23rd.  I  am  to  address  the  Working  Men 
at  the  Church  Congress  at  Derby  on  Wednesday, 


54     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

October   4,   and    should    like   a  little  talk    on    the 
subject  with  my  friend 

Knickerpecker ! 
J  illy  flower  ! ! 
Cololy  Cololy  Cololy  ! ! ! 
Keckleckity  Joe  ! ! !! 
and 
Topper.^ 

— Hoping    you    are   well,    I    remain    always,   your 
sincere  friend,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Joe  Birley. 

Caunton  Manor,  December  5,  1884. 
Dear  Joe, — I  am  heartily  pleased  to  be  remem- 
bered on  my  birthday,  and  thank  you  sincerely  for 
your  kind  wishes.  And  I  rejoice  to  hear  that  your 
sick  house  has  become  a  convalescent  home.  I 
have  just  returned  from  a  10  days'  Mission  in 
East  London.  The  amount  of  sin  and  misery  is 
appalling.  Such  scenes  as  make  the  heart  bleed. 
Large  families  crowded  in  a  small  room.  Three 
children  in  a  bed,  two  of  them  sick,  one  dead. 
The  little  corpse  taken  out  at  night,  and  put  on 
the  floor  to  make  room  for  the  parents  ! 

^  Nicknames  for  Joe  Birley  which  Hole  remembered  and  used  to 
the  end  of  his  life.  Once,  having  left  out  a  favourite  nickname  in  a 
letter  which  contained  a  long  row  of  them,  he  sent  a  postcard  to 
Birley  next  day  making  good  the  accidental  omission.     See  p.  64. 


AMMUNITION    FOR  THE   CHURCH  55 

A  husband  brought  home  drowned — the  wife 
takes  off  his  boots  and  pawns  them  for  drink ! 

It  was  a  great  day  at  Northampton!  I  am 
amused  at  your  account  of  the  stranger  and  his 
remarks.  As  to  my  refusal  of  the  Bishoprics^  it 
reminds  me  of  a  certain  Miss  Baxter,  who  thought 
that  a  gentleman  proposed  marriage,  when  he  had 
no  such  intention,  and  "  begged  to  decline." 
Whereupon  her  brothers  used  to  tease  her  by 
saying : 

"Poor  Miss  Baxter,  poor  Miss  Baxter ! 
Refused  a  man,  wot  never  ax'd  her." 

Do  you  know  anything  about  Keighley  ?  I  am 
going  there,  after  frequent  invitations,  to  speak 
upon  Free  and  Open  Churches  on  the  22nd  of 
January. — Yours  always  truly, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Joe  Birley. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
October  31,  1885. 

Dear  Joe, — Ask  the  Liberationist  lecturer  : — 

When  was  the  Church  established  ? 

Was  there  a  Church  of  England  before  there  was 
a  Parliament,  or  a  national  Government  of  any 
kind? 

Was  there  not  a  Church  when  England  was 
divided  into  Seven  Kingdoms  ? 


56  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

When    were    Tithes     first    begun  ?       Leviticus 
xxvii.  32. 

For  whom  were  Tithes  given  ? 

Did  you  ever  read  the  prophet  Malachi,  chapter 
iii.,  verse  8. 

Did  you  ever  hear  that  a  man  who  would  rob  a 
Church  was  the  worst  of  all  thieves  ? 

Is  ,  an  atheist  and  an  adulterer,  the  right 

sort  of  man  to  make  laws  for  Christians,  and  for 
husbands  and  wives  ? — Yours  very  truly, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Joe  Birley.. 

Caunton  Manor, 
Newark,  September  i,  1886. 

Dear  Joe, — In  consequence  of  the  lateness  of 
the  harvest,  the  shooting  here  will  not  commence 
until  Monday  the  13th.  I  do  not  propose  to  take 
out  a  certificate,  but  Mr.  Hugh  ^  will  be  delighted 
to  see  you,  and  we  can  wander  about  the  lanes  and 
mark,  if  you  can  arrange  to  come. 

You  would  be  glad  to  read  the  result  of  the 
Election  of  Proctors  in  this  diocese.  They  thought 
that  they  were  pulling  me  out  of  my  saddle,  but 
they  were  only  tightening  the  girths. — Always  your 
sincere  old  friend,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

'  Hugh  Hole,  his  son. 


CAUNTON   AIR  57 


To  Joe  Birley. 

Caunton  Manor, 
Newark,  December  5,  1887. 

Dear  Topper, — It  is  very  pleasant  to  be  re- 
membered by  old  friends,  and  I  am  glad  to  receive 
your  kind  wishes  on  my  birthday.  It  will  be  a 
greater  pleasure  to  see  the  writer,  whenever  he  can 
come,  and  you  must  need  a  little  change  and  rest — 
especially  as  you  have  been  unwell.  Caunton  air 
will  bring  back  the  bright  eyes  and  rosy  cheeks, 
which  I  can  remember  for  a  longer  time  than  their 
owner.  How  astonished  they  would  be  at  the 
Station  to  see  you  down  on  the  platform,  and  to 
hear  our  old  conversation  : — 

Gie  o'er ! 

Why  must  I  gie  o'er? 
Coz  you'll  catch  it. 
Who'll  gie  it  me  ? 
Why  /  shall. 

Well — time  seems  flying  with  swifter  wings  than 
ever,  but  I  trust  they  are  bearing  us  upward,  for 
our  dear  Lord's  sake.  You  and  I  shall  be  always 
true  friends  in  this  world,  and  shall,  I  trust,  be 
together  in  the  next. — Yours  ever  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


58  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  Joe  Birley. 

Caunton  Manor, 
Newark,  December  lo,  1887. 

Dear  Old  Friend, — It  gives  me  special  pleasure 
to  write,  because  I  know  that  it  will  give  you 
special  pleasure  to  read,  that  I  have  a  letter  from 
the  Marquis  of  Salisbury  this  morning,  in  which 
he  says  that  "the  Queen  has  been  graciously 
pleased  to  name  me  for  the  Deanery  of  Rochester." 
It  is  a  most  honourable  appointment,  and  the 
income  is  ;^2000  per  annum. ^ 

I  hope  by  God's  grace  to  do  some  service  for 
my  Divine  Master,  among  the  soldiers,  sailors, 
dockyard  labourers,  and  other  working  men. 

You  must  come  to  Caunton  before  we  leave — I 
should  think  in  two  or  three  months.  I  trust  that 
your  health  improves  and  that  your  wife  and  family 
are  well. — Yours  always  truly, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Joe  Birley. 

The  Deanery, 
Rochester,  April  ^2^  1893. 

Dear  Joe, — You  will  know,  without  any  words 

from  me,  the  happiness  which  I  feel  in  hearing  of 

the  good  work  which  you  are  doing  for  our  Divine 

^  It  never  amounted  to  this,  however,  in  Dean  Hole's  time. 


I^^l 

i^     o 

^^H 

g    ^ 

'HI^^H 

^1^1 

K     -flj 

-m^-  "^         rM 

"^       O 

-i«i^  V    ^^1 

MR.   CHURCHWARDEN  59 

Master  in  His  Church  ;  and  I  rejoice  greatly  to 
be  informed  of  the  generosity  of  Mrs.  Meynell 
Ingram. 

I  can  hardly  imagine  that  the  blue-eyed  boy, 
whose  ribs  I  used  to  tickle  as  he  struggled  on  the 
grass,  is  now  Mr.  Churchwarden  Birley  !  I  hope 
that  he  has  ordered  from  Broxley  the  long  official 
gown. 

On  Tuesday  last  I  stood  over  the  grave  of  our 
dear  Benedict. ^  Do  you  remember  the  advice  I 
gave  you  to  mount  him  from  the  laundry  window  ? 

Caunton  Manor  is  empty,  and,  if  we  do  not  get 
a  tenant,  we  think  of  furnishing  two  or  three  rooms 
and  living  there  for  a  few  weeks  in  August  and 
September.  If  we  do  this,  you  might  have  a  shoot 
with  Mr.  Hugh,  and  Moor  Lane  might  see  us  once 
more  at  lunch  ! 

With  our  kind  regards,  I  remain  always, — Your 
sincere  friend,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

Your  class  of  young  Colliers  will  do  incalculable 
good. 

To  Joe  Birley. 

The  Deanery, 
Rochester,  September  30,  1893. 

Dear  Joe,  —  I  am  heartily  pleased  at  your 
affectionate   letter,  and    I    can    assure    you    that    I 

'  His  favourite  horse. 


6o     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

enjoyed  most  happily  our  bright  Sunday  together. 
I  had  not  time,  when  passing  thro'  London,  to  call 
upon  the  publishers  of  the  Ordnance  Maps  to 
inform  them  of  the  new  road  to  Park  Springs,  but 
we  must  have  it  in  the  next  edition. 

Mrs.  Hole  was  none  the  worse  for  her  evening 
drive,  and  we  arrived  here  in  safety,  but  with  some 
sad  regrets  that  our  holiday  in  the  dear  old  home 
was  over.  Nevertheless,  as  the  sailor  said,  "  Life 
can't  be  all  Beer  and  Skittles,"  and  we  must  resume 
work  and  duty  with  thankfulness. 

There  does  not  seem  much  probability  of 
agreement  between  the  miners  and  their  masters. 
The  subject  demands  legislation,  because  no  one 
wheel  of  trade  can  be  allowed  to  stop  the 
machine.  Parliament  should  insist  on  a  Board  of 
Arbitration. 

With  kind  regards,  I  am  always, — Your  sincere 
old  friend,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Joe  Birley. 

Coney  Hill,  Comrie,  Perthshire, 
S.  xiii.  Trinity,  1895. 

Dear  Joe, — Your  letter  is  written  in  such  an 
excellent  spirit,  and  I  am  so  anxious  to  hear  of 
further  promotion,  that  I  have  forwarded  it,  so  far 
as  it  relates  to  your  position  on  "the  Midlands,"  to 
my  friend  Mr. .     Time  goes  on,  dear  Joe,  and 


A   SMALL   CHURCH  6i 

having  downed  you  so  often  in  your  childhood,  I 
should  like  to  assist  in  raising  you  in  manhood,  not 
only  because  of  our  friendship,  but  because  you 
deserve  an  advance.  I  thought  that  you  had 
received  this  very  recently,  and    I   hope  that    Mr. 

will  do  something  more  and  not  be  very  long 

about  it.  He  will  perceive,  I  think,  from  your 
letter,  that  you  are  a  better  scholar  than  he  knew, 
and  will  see  at  all  events  that  you  have  learned 
some  lessons  which  no  mere  human  wisdom  can 
teach. 

The  Church  here  is  about  the  size  of  the  old 
Methodist  meeting-house  at  Caunton,  but  it  holds 
me  nicely,  and  having  put  the  choir  on  the  roof, 
I  can  preach  to  the  congregation  outside  from  the 
open  window. — Yours  always  sincerely, 

Rennuds. 


To  Joseph  Birley. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 

Sunday  evening,  January  8. 

Dear  Topper, — George  Williamson  has  just  left 
the  Deanery,  and  a  better  specimen  of  a  young 
English  sailor  I  would  not  wish  to  see.  I  had  a 
long  and  pleasant  conversation  with  him,  and  very 
fortunately  Captain  Atkinson,  who  is  an  Officer 
in  high  authority  in  the  Dockyard  at  Chatham, 
came  in  after   service,  and    promised,  after   I   had 


62     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

introduced  Williamson,  to  speak  a  kind  word  in  his 
favour  to  the  Captain  of  the  "  Pegasus,"  in  which 
ship  Williamson  takes  his  next  voyage.  He  does 
Normanton  and  his  schoolmaster  great  credit.  I 
have  told  him  to  apply  to  me  if  I  can  ever  promote 
his  wishes. 

I  have  been  an  invalid  for  a  month,  but  am 
gradually  recovering.  Under  these  circumstances, 
I  do  not  propose  to  ride  this  year  in  the  Grand 
National  at  Liverpool,  and  I  have  also  given  up  all 
idea  of  Epsom,  being  several  ounces  over  the 
Derby  weight. — With  our  kindest  regards,  yours 
always  sincerely,  S.   Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Joe  Birley. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
September  1,  1899. 

My  dear  Joe, — I  am  shocked  to  hear  of 
the  sudden  and  deplorable  death  of  your  Vicar, 
and  I  sympathise  heartily  in  the  sorrow  of  the 
widow,  whose  home  is  left  unto  her  desolate, 
and  of  those  committed  to  his  charge.  I  know 
that  you  and  others  will  do  all  that  is  possible, 
but  for  such  an  awful  calamity  there  is  only  one 
Comforter. 

We  shall  be  pleased  to  see  you  here  whenever 
you  can  come,  and  your  native  air  will  refresh 
you  after  your  illness  and  anxiety. 


UNTEMPTED   BY  TIMBER  63 

You  will  see  from  "The  Times"  of  this  day 
that  I  have  withdrawn  from  "  The  English  Church 
Union." — Yours  always  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  Joe  Birley. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  17,  1903. 

Dear  Nicker  Pecker,  keckleckitty  Joe,  and 
TOP-PER, — The  snipe  were  excellent,  and  gave 
me  two  most  enjoyable  dinners.  It  was  a  great 
disappointment  that  I  could  not  see  more  of  you 
and  have  more  talk  about  the  dear  old  times, 
persons,  and  places.  I  begin  to  feel  more  and 
more  the  infirmities  of  age,  and  have  to  abstain 
from  excitement  and  fatigue. 

I  no  longer  feel  any  particular  desire  to  walk 
over  20  acres  of  fallow  under  a  burning  sun,  or 
even  through  10  acres  of  beans  about  5  feet  high. 
I  could  not  be  tempted  by  timber,  however  stiff, 
were  I  mounted  on  Paddy  or  Benedict, — indeed  I 
fear  that  the  process  of  getting  into  the  saddle 
would  be  too  much  for  me,  unless  I  stepped  out 
of  the  laundry  window.  Perhaps  "when  the  green 
leaves  come  again  "  I  may  revive,  and  we  may  sit 
in  the  sunshine  and  once  more  remember  "the 
merrie,  merrie,  merrie  old  times."  Be  this  as  it 
may,  I  shall  remain  always, — Your  very  sincere 
old  friend,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


64  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  Joe  Birley.^ 

To  George  Paul. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
S.  James's  Day,  1874. 

Dear  George  Paul, — I  have  just  heard  with 
real  pleasure  from  two  of  our  mutual  friends,  that 
my  namesake"  (let  it  be  "  Reynolds  Hole"  without 
any  prefix,  because  by  that  name  I  am  best  known 
to  my  friends,  and  the  pronunciation  is  easier)  is 
now  blooming  at  Cheshunt  in  great  beauty  and 
proves   itself  to    be   a  superior   rose.      Could  you 

^  "Gilliflower"  was  a  favourite  nickname  for  Birley. 
^  The  hybrid  perpetual  rose  "  Reynolds  Hole." 


A    UNITARIAN  65 

spare   me  a  few  "buds,"  as   my  own   plants   have 
not  done  well  ? 

I  send  you  a  book  by  this  post,  which  is  written 
by  one  of  the  wisest  and  holiest  of  living  men. 
You  have  latterly  been  much  in  my  thoughts  and 
prayers,  and  I  seem  to  be  impelled  to  send  you  the 
volume,  and  to  entreat  you  to  read  it. — Yours  very 
sincerely,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

Mr.  Paul  was  one  of  his  rose  brothers,  whom,  on  the 
flyleaf  of  a  presentation  copy  of  "A  Book  about  Roses," 
he  named  "the  hero  of  a  hundred  fights  in  the  bloodless 
wars  of  the  roses."  The  book  mentioned  in  this  letter 
was  a  copy  of  Canon  Liddon's  "  Bampton  Lectures." 
"I  am  inclined  to  think,"  says  Mr.  Paul,  "that  my  old 
friend,  the  Rev.  W.  D'Ombrain,  who  died  last  year 
[1906],  may  be  the  person  to  whom  he  alludes,  and  who 
may  have  told  him  that  I  happened  to  be,  as  my  Father 
and  Grandfather  were  before  me,  a  Unitarian,  which 
induced  my  dear  and  kind  old  friend  [Dean  Hole]  to 
send  the  book  and  the  letter.  I  need  not  say  I  took  it  in 
the  kind  way  it  was  meant,  read  the  book  and  did  not 
alter  my  convictions." 


To  John  Brown. ^ 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
July  16,  1874. 

My  very  dear  Friend, — The  letters  came  back 
to  me  with  an  additional  value,  because  they  have 
been  read  by  one,  whom,  as  they  testify,  the  writer 

^  Author  of"  Rab  and  His  Friends." 


66  THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

highly  esteemed, — and,  more  than  this,  by  one  who, 
as  it  seems  to  me,  appreciates  more  clearly  and 
comprehensively  than  any  other  man  of  mind,  who 
has  spoken  or  written  on  the  subject,  the  genius 
and  the  goodness  of  John  Leech. 

Apropos  of  admiration,  Leech  told  me  an  inci- 
dent, which  you  might  think  worthy  of  diffusion  in 
type:  When  I  was  a  very  young  artist,  he  said, 
Rogers,  the  artist,  pleased  me  very  much  by  re- 
marking, "  Mr.  Leech,  I  admire  you  much,"  but 
promptly  repressed  my  transports  by  adding,  *'  I 
saw  you  this  morning  brushing  your  hat,  and  the 
man  who  in  these  days  does  anything  for  himself  is 
worthy  of  admiration." 

Little  John  Brown's^  Horse  Subsecivse  will  be 
much  sweetened  by  great  John  Brown's  sympathy 
and  sixpence,  and  the  small  heart  under  his  "  dutty 
veskitt  "  shall  know  grateful  joy. 

The  thermometers  are  following  your  example 
and  taking  very  high  Degrees,  and  the  very  grass 
which  you  trod  upon  when  at  Caunton  cries  out, 
"  We  too  will  be,  as  he  is,  Brown."  It  is  difficult  to 
observe  a  rule,  which  I  once  saw  in  a  Book  of 
Etiquette  for  Ladies,  "When  heated  with  the 
dance,  do  not  say  to  your  partner,  /  sweat,  but 
rather,  '  I  begin  to  perspire/ "  because  the  mono- 
syllable is  not  only  more  expressive  of  the  fact, 
but  is  more  easily  pronounced. — Yours  lovingly, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

^  One  of  the  boys  in  Caunton  School.    See  Introduction. 


CANE    DECANE!  67 

Alas  !  this  is  the  only  one  of  the  many  letters  written 
by  Hole  to  the  author  of  "  Rab  and  His  Friends  "  which 
I  have  found.  What  became  of  them  I  cannot  tell  ;  but 
probably  they  long  since  went  the  way  of  most  of  the 
letters  written  to  Leech  and  to  Shirley  Brooks.  Mr. 
John  Brown,  who  is  publishing  a  collection  of  his 
father's  letters,  can  give  me  no  information  about 
them.  I  have  found,  however,  a  number  of  Dr.  John 
Brown's  letters  among  the  Dean's  papers.  He  was  a 
most  vivacious  correspondent,  his  letters  being  full  at 
once  of  force  and  tenderness.  The  friendship  between 
the  two  was  struck  up  in  186$.  Brown  was  a  great 
admirer  of  the  genius  and  character  of  Leech,  whose 
life  he,  too,  once  thought  of  writing.  On  March  22, 
1865,  Brown  wrote  to  Hole  from  Edinburgh  concerning 
Leech  :  "  I  knew  how  intimate  you  were  with  that  great 
and  good  man.  I  knew  that  you  read  over  his  body 
the  divinely  beautiful  and  comforting  Service  of  your 
Church,  and  that  you  were  one  of  his  three  or  four 
most  cherished  friends,  therefore  it  is  to  me  a  great 
comfort  to  know  that  what  I  so  imperfectly  said  of 
your  friend  has  pleased  you." 

^^  2nd  June,  [1874].  University  Club,  Edinburgh. 
My  dear  dean, — I  made  an  awful  blunder  in  my 
note  to  Madam  in  saying  that  in  Scotland  we  call  a 
Dean  a  Deacon  —  The  one  is  Decanus,  the  other 
Diaconus — What  means  ''Rural"?  You  know,  I 
daresay,  the  lines  made  on  a  hunting  Dean,  who 
sang  a  song  in  praise  of  the  hounds  —  he  being  a 
grey-headed  man  : — 

Cane  Decane  !  canes  canis, 
Ne  cane  canis,  Cane  Decane, 
Cane  canos,  cane  Decane  ! 

— Yours  ever,  J.  B." 


68  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Brown  stayed  at  Caunton  one  year  and  enjoyed 
himself  there  as  much  as  Leech  did.  "  How  is 
Benedictus  ? "  he  asks  in  one  of  his  letters — "that 
noble,  leisurely,  capable  fellow — and  have  there  been 
any  more  meets  ?  Is  my  rose  alive  ?  is  that  huge 
porker  still  munching  the  cabbages  ?  I  thought  he 
must  be  descended  from  the  prodigal  son's  swine. 
That  is  an  excellent  sermon  of  yours,  sir — the  sincere 
milk  of  the  word,  which  is  better  than  the  blue  ruin 
of  ultra  Calvinism.  A  cousin  who  is  famous  for  his 
good  wishes  has  carried  it  (the  sermon)  off,  having 
tasted  it  when  waiting  for  me.  To  ride  well — to  be 
the  best  Roser — to  have  been  Leech's  friend  —  to  be 
6  feet  3 — to  have  as  many  hairs  in  your  head  as  you 
had  at  20  is  something  to  be  grateful  for." 

Hole  contributed  some  recollections  of  Leech  to  the 
second  series  of  Hor(2  SubsecivcB  in  1882,  and  Brown 
wrote  :  ''  You  must  be  a  good-natured  man.  All  big 
beings  —  fortunately  —  are  —  they  can  afford  it.  That 
Leech  paper  would  have  been  dee-deed  had  it  not  been 
for  you.  There  is  only  one  word  that  characterises  my 
bits,  and  that  is  a  Latin  one — Marcus — maimed,  lame 
&c.  &c.  .  .  .  How  is  Astyanax  ?  and  Andromache  ?  and 
what  is  your  successor  to  the  Colonel  ^  called  and  like  ? 
I  have  sent  a  puny  little  game  Scotch  terrier  to 
the  Bishop  of  Peterboro',  \  Skye  (original — short  and 
hard  hair)  otter  terrier,  t'other  \  Scotch  fox  terrier, 
small  and  wiry.  When  young,  this  breed  have  their 
tail  cocked  up  and  their  ears  down,  but  when  they  come 
to  years  (ears)  of  discretion,  the  tail  drops  gracefully 
and  slowly  down  and  the  ears  prick  themselves  and 
their  courage  up — and  I  told  the  Bishop  that  as  the 
tail  (gradually)  falls,  so  falls  the  C.  of  England,  and  as 
the  ears  rise,  so  rises  the  U.P.  Church." 

^  A  retriever. 


CAUNTON    LIVE-STOCK  69 

To  HIS  Wife. 

Caunton  Manor, 
S.  a.  Easter,  \_April  11/75]. 

Own  Dearest, —  I  found  all  well  (except  a  small 
graze  on  Kercheval's  ^  nose,  and  the  narcissus,  which 
decline  to  come  up  during  this  bitter  weather), 
including  54  chickens,  and  5  ducks. 

John  Hodgkinson  has  arranged  for  Bridget  "to 
have  a  colt  foal  at  the  end  of  this  month."  ^ 

Crossley's  men  have  made  great  progress,  and 
the  work  is  so  satisfactory  that  I  think  we  had 
better  change  places  with  the  servants,  and  live 
in  the  back  premises. 

Brian  just  has  given  your  organ  '*  ode  on't "  ^ 
to-day.     The  word  piano  is  not  in  his  dictionary. 

Zoe*  slept  with  Papa  last  night,  and  I  wish 
Bostock's  cat  had  slept  with  hers,  instead  of 
stealing  one  of  the  two  whiting  out  of  the  larder, 
which  I  brought  from  London  for  our  dinner 
to-day. 

The  hyacinths  are  a  thing  of  beauty. 

Very  little  news,  or  perspiration,  in  this  parish. 

Luncheon  Vere  Street  at  i. —  Your  loving 
husband,  Reynolds. 

'  Kercheval  Marsland,  his  nephew.  ^  Which  she  did. 

'  Broad  Notts  dialect  for  "hold  of  it,"  expressive  of  action  with 
plenty  of  force.  *  A  pet  dog. 


70  THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  HIS  Wife. 

Caunton  Manor, 
April  22,  1875. 

We — I,  Maymie,  Zoe,  Maggie,  the  forthcoming 
foal,  and  the  chickens — were  dehghted  to  hear  that 
our  travellers  had  arrived  safely.  There  is  a  note, 
which  I  enclose,  from  Mrs.  Lea,  certifying  dear 
Hughie's  arrival,  and,  strange  to  tell,  with  his 
luggage. 

It  is  just  like  your  kind  consideration  for  others 
to  think  of  calling  at  Harbury.  See  the  Church, 
and  the  Churl's  Pew  in  the  Chancel.  The  Altar 
Cross  was  my  offering. 

All  well  here.      The  hampers  have  come  from 

H ,  the  refrigerator  and  chintz   from  London. 

The  ice-safe  is  just  what  we  want,  and  a  larger 
one  would  have  been  a  disappointment.  It  looks 
quite  at  home  in  the  larder.  I  am  delighted  with 
the  chintz  :  we  shall  sleep  in  a  Bower  of  Roses. 

The  hyacinths  are  lovely  still,  and  we  have  some 
beautiful  roses.  Asparagus  in  plenty,  which  Ker- 
cheval  may  not  eat,  as  he  is  training,^  takes  strong 
exercise  before  breakfast,  and  is  rubbed  down  by 
Stephen  on  his  return. 

I  went  down  to  the  Mayor's  Meeting,  took  the 
wrong  side,  and  defeated  the  object  for  which  he 
invited  me.      But  I  was  right. 

^  For  some  athletic  sports. 


TO   A   SUFFERER  71 

I  have  written  one  hundred  letters  this  week, 
and  this  is  about  the  only  one  which  has  been  a 
pleasure.  With  best  regards  to  our  friends,  I  am 
still,  after  fourteen  years  of  affliction,  borne  patiently, 
— Your  loving  husband,  Reynolds. 

LIFE  IN  DEATH. 

To  A  Friend  in  Grief. 

Caunton  Manor, 

November  27,  1877. 

My  dear  Boy  (for  to  me  you  will  always  be  as 
you  were  when  I  first  knew  you,  and  God  "  keep 
the  child's  heart  in  the  brave  man's  breast"), — 
I  am  constrained  to  write  to  you,  tho'  I  know 
that,  when  my  letter  reaches  you,  you  will  not 
have  the  power  to  read  it.  But  you  will  read  it ; 
and,  because  I  loved  my  mother  as  you  loved 
yours,  and  thought  that  with  her  all  the  light 
and  lovingness  of  my  life  had  gone,  you  will  take 
comfort  from  my  words. 

The  "  dead  "  are,  I  believe,  more  with  us,  can 
do  more  for  us  (they  "  in  the  rest  of  Paradise 
who  dwell")  than  the  living.  In  a  very  short 
time  you  will  know  this.  You  will  feel  yourself 
inclined,  inspired,  to  do  more  for  the  Saviour, 
Whom  you  have  always  loved,  than  you  have  ever 
done. 

In  His  Name,  I  bid  you  do  not  be  induced  to 


72     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

think  that  any  suggestions  of  this  higher  influence 
are  the  results  of  depression  and  melancholy. 

Follow^  then,  in  fear  God. 

I  tell  you  in  confidence,  my  dear  Boy  (to  whom 
I  owe  more  than  you  know),  that  my  mother's 
death  was  life  to  me.  Their  first  thought,  when 
they  find  themselves  safe  (I  do  not  say  that  this 
takes  place  immediately),  is  for  those  they  loved 
best. 

God  be  with  you — He  will — to-morrow!  How 
well  I  remember  my  beloved  mother's  funeral.  I 
thought  my  heart  would  break,  but  when  I  saw 
the  White  Cross  upon  her  Pall,  I  felt  as  though 
(why  not.'*)  an  Angel  whispered,  "Not  lost,  but 
gone  before."  With  my  love  to  your  father,  I  am 
always, — Yours  affectionately, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  HIS  Wife. 

II  Jesse  Terrace,  Reading, 

Saturday^  ^February  ii,  1878]. 

I  have  just  come  in  from  addressing  300  men 
in  the  Great  Western  Works,  a  very  interesting 
scene.  The  work  is  hard  and  anxious.  It  is  so 
very  very  sad  to  hear  histories  of  sin  and  sufifering 
from  those  who  come  to  us  for  counsel,  and,  now 
and  then,  for  confession.  But  God  seems  always 
to  send  them  comfort  through  His  priests. 


CANON  RYLE'S  TRUMPET        73 

There  is  a  dear  old  man  here,  one  of  the  old 
evangelical  school,  a  Mr.  Valpy  French,  for  50 
years  a  clergyman  at  Burton-on-Trent,  father  of 
a  Bishop,  and  having  great  influence  in  Reading, 
and  yesterday  he  paid  me  the  great  compliment 
of  urging  me  to  take  the  incumbency  of  a  large 
church  in  the  town,  holding  1200,  and  with  an 
income  of  nearly  ^600  per  annum.  Don't  mention 
this,  because  it  would  be  conceit  to  speak  of  it 
except  to  you. 

I  go  to  Oxford  on  Tuesday  (my  name  is  again 
on  the  books,  and  I  shall  take  my  M.A.  degree 
shortly,  D.V.,  and  perhaps  in  a  short  time  D.D. 
also),  Eton  Thursday,  and  home  Friday  or  Satur- 
day. And  now  to  work. — Your  fond  and  affec- 
tionate Reynolds. 

If  you  had  seen  Father  Chad  trying  to  light  his 
fire  when  we  came  home  one  morning  from  Holy 
Communion  at  5  a.m.  (it  was  a  sight  to  see  the 
working  men),  on  his  knees  with  a  candle  and 
some  old  clothes  pegs.  I  think  you  would  have 
been  pleased ! 

To  THE  Editor  of  the  "  Newark  Advertiser." 

[November  1878.] 

Sir, — Canon  Ryle's  trumpet  gives  an  uncertain 
sound.  He  sends  me  an  evasive  answer — the  usual 
process  when  a  speaker  has  made  a  statement  which 


74  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

he  cannot  prove.  Canon  Ryle  distinctly  affirms 
that  "  there  is  an  organised  conspiracy  to  Romanise 
the  Church  of  England."  I  distinctly  affirm  that 
"  there  is  no  such  thing " ;  and  when  I  ask  for 
proof,  he  writes  that  the  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells 
and  other  bishops,  and  the  "  Athenaeum  "  (!)  and 
"  Quarterly  Review  "  have  said  very  much  what  he 
says.  But  I  do  not  want  the  opinions  of  prelates 
and  periodicals,  though  I  respect  both — I  want  facts. 
I  want  to  know  where  this  organised  conspiracy 
exists  ?  Where  are  its  headquarters  ?  What  is 
the  name  and  number  of  the  street  in  which  the 
office  may  be  found  ?  Who  is  the  chairman  ?  Who 
are  the  subscribers  ?  Where  can  I  obtain  the  rules  ? 
Canon  Ryle  informed  us  at  Whitby  (I  took  the 
words  down  as  he  spoke  them),  that  "  the  first 
thing  which  the  devil  says  when  he  gets  into  a 
church  is,  '  Up  with  candles  and  down  with  preach- 
ing,' "  by  which  he  meant  that  the  High  Church 
party,  under  an  evil  influence,  preferred  ritual  to 
preaching.  My  reply  is  that  the  Catholic  party 
preach  more  frequently  and  more  fervently  than  the 
Protestant  party  in  the  Church  of  England  ;  and  if 
Canon  Ryle,  instead  of  giving  us  inappropriate 
quotations  from  Latimer,  will  produce  from  the  roll 
of  the  Church  Association  the  names  of  such 
preachers  as  Pusey  and  Liddon,  Carter  and  King, 
Gregory  and  Ashwell,  Wilkinson,  Knox-Little,  and 
Body,  it  will  be  an  interesting  surprise. 


HOLE   AS    ROMANIST  75 

The  condemnatory  form  of  procedure  by  which 
he  commits  me  "  to  the  public  "  may  seem  to  him 
conclusive  and  sublime,  but  it  does  not  frighten  me 
a  bit.  The  venerable  old  dodge  is  worn  out,  and 
scares  me  no  more  than  the  growl  of  an  ancient  and 
toothless  terrier  alarms  a  full-grown  fox.  More- 
over, it  is  my  chief  desire  that  this  discussion  should 
be  submitted  to  the  public,  because  I  believe  that 
men  of  all  parties  will  agree  in  this — that  no  deli- 
berate statement  should  be  made  by  a  public 
speaker  which  he  is  not  prepared  to  prove. — 1  am, 
Sir,  your  obedient  Servant, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole, 

Canon  of  Lincoln. 

Ludicrous  though  it  seems  to-day,  Hole  was  un- 
doubtedly suspected  by  some  people  in  the  'seventies 
and  'eighties  of  traffic  with  the  "  Scarlet  Woman." 
Canon  Ryle — later,  Bishop  of  Liverpool — referred  to  in 
this  letter,  had  just  been  condemning  the  "Ritualistic 
Movement" — and  Hole  in  particular,  as  a  prominent 
member  of  it — as  "  an  organised  conspiracy "  to 
Romanise  the  Church  of  England.  The  full  passage 
from  Bishop  Latimer  quoted  against  Hole  by  the 
Canon  is  :  "  Where  the  devil  is  resident,  or  hath  his 
plough  going,  then  away  with  books  and  up  with 
candles ;  away  with  Bible  and  up  with  beads ;  away 
with  the  light  of  the  Gospel  and  up  with  the  light  of 
candles,  yea,  even  at  noonday.  Where  the  devil  is 
resident,  that  he  may  prevail,  up  with  all  superstition 
and  idolatry,  censing,  painting  of  images,  candles, 
palms,  ashes,  holy  waters,  and  new  services  of  man's 
inventions."      The   last   paragraph    in   the   letter  above 


76  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

refers   to   Canon    Ryle's   statement,  "  I    am   content  to 
leave  him  (Hole)  to  the  judgment  of  the  public." 


To  HIS  Wife. 

[November  1878.] 

I  have  written  18  letters  to-day,  and  you  owe 
me  one,  but  I  must  communicate  two  of  Plant's 
announcements — comic  and  serio-comic. 

Comic. 
The  hounds  were  at    Park   Wood  on  Tuesday, 
but  the  weather  was  so  dull  that  none  of  the  foxes 
would  come  out,  so  there  was  no  sport  for  anybody. 

Serio-comic. 

Raps  at  my  bedroom  door  at  two  in  the  morning. 
"  Please,  sir,  Mrs.  Dorman  is  dead  and  Mr.  Dorman 
won't  let  anybody  lay  her  out."  .  .  .  Obliged  to 
decline  an  invitation  for  Mr.  Parr  to  preach  at 
S.  Martin's  or  might  have  addressed  Mr.  Reynard 
on  the  subject  of  "  parsons." 

To  Bishop  Benson. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
November  20,  1878. 

My  beloved  Friend,  Brother,  and  Father  in 
God, — I  saw  in  the  newspapers  that  you  were 
coming  to   Lincoln.      It  would   have   been  a  great 


AT   ST.   PAUL'S  77 

happiness  to  me,  and  you  know  it,  to  have  seen 
you,  and  held  your  hand,  and  had  your  Blessing.' 

Perhaps  I  was  really  nearer  to  you  than  if  we 
had  met,  for  I  was  on  Mission  Work,  as  my  First 
Warden  would  wish,  and  with  his  successor  in 
alliance,  and  went  from  Grimsby  to  other  duties. 

If  I  am  "  attached  to  this  machine "  (and  He, 
Who  knows  how  much  of  my  fallow  ground  has 
to  be  ploughed,  will,  I  trust,  in  His  mercy  give 
me  the  heart  and  the  time),  I  hope  for  five  years 
to  send  you  ;^io  annually  for  the  Cathedral,  and 
enclose  the  first  instalment.  I  dare  not  say  much 
of  my  regret  that  I  cannot  give  more,  because 
I   feel  that  I  do  not  deserve  the  privilege. 

I  have  a  little  note  of  yours,  which  I  sometimes 
read,  as  a  lover  reads — aye,  with  a  far  deeper, 
purer,  more  enduring  Love.  With  kindest  regards, 
I  remain,  my  dear  Bishop, — Yours  in  faithful 
affection,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


A    FIRST  SERMON  AT  ST.    PAUL'S. 

To  HIS  Wife. 

Halstead  Place, 
Tuesday  morning.,  December  1880. 

I  am  up  "early  in  the  morning,"  before  Walter 
has  been  to  call  me,  that  I  may  send  a  letter  to 
my    best   beloved,  by  some  one  who    is    going   to 


78     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

London  by  train.  I  should  have  written  yester- 
day, but  was  on  my  legs,  except  at  breakfast 
and  luncheon,  until  I  left  for  Halstead,  going  all 
over  St.  Paul's  with  Canon  Gregory,  interviewing 
my  publishers,  and  Robinson/  and  then  off  to 
Chelsea,  where  the  Whitlocks  were  really  glad  to 
see  me,  and  heartily  pleased  to  hear  good  news 
of  you.  They  are  true  and  sincere  people,  and  in 
compliance  with  a  request,  which  they  repeated  at 
intervals  during  my  visit,  you  must  go  and  see  them. 

I  was  delighted  to  hear  from  our  excellent  "Mr. 
Cook "  of  your  arrival  at  Scarborough.  How  I 
should  enjoy  a  glimpse  of  the  pleasant  faces,  the 
grand  old  sea,  and  Dahlia  imperialis  !  My  love 
to  all 

Canon  Gregory  asked  a  very  congenial  little 
company  to  meet  me  on  Saturday  :  the  Dean,  his 
wife  and  daughter,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Webb  (of 
St.    Andrews),    Dr.    and    Mrs.    Stainer   (he    plays 

the  organ  better  than  Mr.  B ),^  Mr.  Butterfield 

the  architect,  and    a    Mr.  and  Mrs.    F (he  a 

banker,  and  said  to  be  the  most  generous  man  in 
London).  He  said  to  a  friend  not  long  since,  "  I 
happen  to  have  between  sixty  and  seventy  thousand 
pounds  to  give  away,  I  wish  you  would  help  me 
with  your  advice."     Canon   Gregory  told  me  that 

^  Author  of  "  The  English  Flower  Garden,"  the  first   edition  of 
which  was  dedicated  to  Hole. 
*  The  village  schoolmaster. 


DR.   STAINER  79 

he  believed  Mr.  F 's   charitable   outlay   would 

average  ^10,000  a  year. 

I  was  thoroughly  delighted  with  St.  Paul's,  such 
a  dignified  service,  and  such  sublime  music.  Gounod, 
Roman  though  he  is,  declared  the  midday  Cele- 
bration to  be  the  most  beautiful  service  in  Europe, 
and  Dr.  Stainer,  who  is  the  chief  source  and 
strength,  is  so  humble  and  unselfish.  He  was 
a  chorister,  and  a  kind  old  lady  paid  for  his  first 
lessons  on  the  organ.  I  called  on  him,  and  he 
thanked  me  as  though  I  had  been  Mendelssohn 
(no  doubt  he  had  heard  of  my  success  on  the  flute), 
and  when  I  told  him  how  much  I  had  enjoyed  his 
music,  he  said  very  modestly,  "  I  only  try  to  do 
my  duty."  The  congregation  in  the  evening  literally 
filled  that  immense  church  from  the  choir  to  the 
western  door.  How  far  my  voice  went  I  know 
not,  but  they  seemed  to  be  listening  in  the  horizon ! 
I  was  not  nervous  in  the  least  degree  in  the  reality, 
though  I  had  been  in  the  anticipation,  because  He, 
Who  sends,  always  supports  ;  and  the  more  one  is 
conscious  of  utter  weakness  and  unworthiness,  the 
more  one  seems  to  hear  a  voice  saying,  "If  I 
condescend  to  use  you  as  an  instrument,  your 
personal  failures  and  feelings  cannot  interfere." 

I  found  the  sweeties  here  sweeter  than  ever,  and 
it  did  me  good  to  see  them  all  rushing  to  welcome 
Uncle  Reynolds. — Your  loving  husband, 

Reynolds. 


8o  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

MISSION    WORK. 

To  HIS  Wife. 

145  Victoria  Street,  Grimsby. 
I  am  most  thankful  to  know  that  you  are  better, 
though  (as  Frank  Hilton  said,  when  it  was  hinted 
that  his  recovery  was  sufficiently  advanced  to 
justify  his  return  to  lessons),  "  only  a  very  little." 
I  knew  that  your  long  lad  would  be  a  good  tonic. 
....  The  work  here  is  very  hard.  It  would,  of 
course,  be  nothing  if  the  addresses  and  sermons 
were  read,  but  that  would  make  comparatively  no 
impression,  and,  therefore,  the  strain  of  preparation 
and  recollection  is  great.  I  have  a  cold  and  cough 
which  would  like  to  make  itself  disagreeable,  but 
during  a  Mission  "we  don't"  (as  poor  Davis  said 
of  the  pheasants),  "  we  don't  tak'  no  notice  o'  them 
things." 

I  have  to  speak  at  Nottingham  on  the  7th,  and 
probably  shall  come  back  here  for  a  day,  to  gather 
up  the  fragments  that  remain,  but  all  this  we  can 
arrange.  How  happy  I  shall  be  to  see  you  in  our 
"Convalescent  Home,"  my  own  sweet,  beloved 
wife! — In  this  you  may  fully  believe  me,  your 
loving  husband,  Reynolds. 


THE    BLUE    MEDITERRANEAN  8i 


To  Bishop  Benson. 

Hotel  de  St.  Barthelemi, 
PR^s  DE  Nice,  France, 

Sexagesima  Sunday,  1880. 

My  beloved  Bishop, — No  work  would  be  more 
congenial  to  me  than  that  which  would  reunite  us  ; 
and  I  should  have  made  every  effort  in  my  power, 
had  I  been  in  England,  first  to  accept  your  invita- 
tion, and  then  to  do  your  bidding  with  prayerful 
preparation,  and  with  happy  hopes.  But  I  shall 
be  at  the  Land's  End  of  France,  if  I  am  still 
"attached  to  this  machine,"  until  the  middle  of 
May,  and  must  be  content  to  be  with  you  in  heart, 
as  so  often  and  so  sincerely  I  am,  and  shall 
always  be. 

My  wife  was  seriously  ill  last  winter,  from  some 
"thickening  of  the  bronchial  tube";  the  doctors 
urged  a  more  genial  climate,  as  likely  to  release 
her  from  the  weakness ;  and  I,  having  ascertained 
the  length  of  my  physical  rope,  and  somewhat 
strained  it,  was  glad,  on  all  grounds,  to  obey  their 
prescription.     And  now,  with  a  sky  above  us, 

"  So  cloudless,  clear,  and  purely  beautiful, 
That  God  alone  is  to  be  seen  in  heaven," 

with  the  olive-clad,  vine-clad  mountains  around  us, 
and  the  blue  Mediterranean  before  us,  we  can  sing 


82     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

"  Non  nobis"  for  health,  and  strength,  and  other 
manifold  mercies. 

I  hear  of  you,  and  read  of  you,  greedily,  always, 
like  Oliver  Twist,  "asking  for  more,"  and  some- 
times I  dream  of  you  as  first  Bishop  of  Southwell, 
and  I  awake  with  a  sigh,  "Too  bright,  too  bright!" 
But  there  is  one  vision  which  does  not  end  in 
despair — an  announcement  that  you  are  coming 
with  Mrs.  Benson  into  the  diocese  of  Lincoln, 
and  will  give  us  the  true  pleasure  of  seeing  you 
at  Caunton.  With  our  kind  regards,  you  know 
me  to  be, — Yours  in  high  esteem  and  love, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Mrs.  Riddell. 

Hotel  de  St.  Barti^lemy, 
PR^S  DE  Nice,  February  13,  1880. 

We  have  just  concluded  the  Carnival  of  Nice, 
which  is  now  the  most  elaborate  in  Christendom, 
and  you  would  have  been  amused  to  see  the  old 
Mester  taking  notes,  through  a  wire  mask  and 
under  a  heavy  fire,  or  rather  snow,  of  Confetti. 
It  was  a  charming  sight  for  those  who  have  not 
lost  their  childish  love  of  gay  toys  and  merry 
hearts,  and  tho'  few  said  Vale  to  Miss  Carni- 
vorine  habits,  we  all  took  leave  of  our  senses  for 
a  time. 


A   ROSEATE    HOST  83 

To  T.  B.  Hall  (a  great  Rose-grower). 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
July  18,  1881. 

My  dear  Brother  (of  the  Royal  Fraternity  of 
the  Rose), — I  cannot  satisfy  my  conscience  until 
I  have  expressed  in  writing  as  well  as  in  words  my 
happy  appreciation  of  all  the  genial  kinship  which 
I  received  from  you,  from  your  wife,  your  sons, 
your  daughters,  nephews,  and  friends  during  my 
delightful  sojourn  in  your  home.  I  shall  never 
forget  my  visit,  and  when  in  the  dull  and  drear 
season  of  winter  I  may  feel  somewhat  depressed,  I 
shall  recall  the  vision  of  my  roseate  host,  cool  in 
costume,  but  all  on  fire  with  energy  and  enthu- 
siasm, trying  to  turn  down  three  different  walks 
(leading  to  different  parts  of  his  rosary)  at  the 
same  time,  now  bringing  the  grandest  rose  in  his 
garden,  some  magnificent  Paul  Trevor,  or  some 
Star  of  Waltham,  with  the  Star  plainly  visible  in 
the  centre,  for  Mrs.  Hole,  and  now  bearing  some 
smaller  specimen,  which,  with  a  self-denial  beyond 
words,  he  intends  for  the  public  show  ;  and  when  I 
see  that  sight  my  spirit  will  be  revived,  and  I  shall 
feel  the  gladness  of  the  time  of  roses,  and  the  pride 
of  an  old  cricketer,  who  sees  his  son  make  100  at 
Lord's. 

I  find  some  fine  blooms  on  my  return,  and 
show    at    Newark   on   Thursday,   declining  Sutton 


84     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

Coldfield,  as  it  is  hopeless  to  exhibit  against  men 
who  sell  their  rose  trees  by  the  thousand,  and  have 

a  show  in  a  Rose  Nursery,  like  Mr. . — Most 

sincerely  yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Bishop  Benson. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
May  13,  1881. 

My  beloved  Brother  and  Bishop,  —  There, 
where  I  sought  guidance  as  to  my  going  to  Truro, 
I  have  thanked  our  merciful  Father  for  the  gracious 
encouragement  which  He  has  sent  me  in  your  most 
welcome  words.  And  I  thank  you  from  my  heart 
and  those  around  you  for  your  great  kindness  and 
sympathy. 

How  good  you  all  have  been  to  me,  from  Bishop 
to  verger,  from  dear  Mrs.  Benson  to  Mary 
Cobeldlck.  It  was  "a  goodly  place,  a  goodly 
time,"  and  will  be  always  a  happy  memory. 

The  way  is  long,  the  wind  is  cold,  the  minstrel 
grows  infirm  and  old,  but  he  hopes  once  again  to 
revisit  that  pleasant  scene,  and  those  genial, 
generous  friends. — Ever  believe  me  to  be  yours 
and  theirs  in  truest  affection, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

I  should  be  very  grateful  if  you  would  send  me 
your  photograph.      I   meant  to  have  brought  one 


BISHOP   OF   SOUTHWELL?  85 

from  Truro,  and  forgot.  So  glad  to  hear  of  your 
son's  success  at  King's.  When  may  we  expect 
the  publication  of  Hugh's  Tale  of  Terror  ? 

To  Canon  Trebeck. 

Caunton  Manor, 

June  2,  [188 1  ?]. 

Dear  Trebeck, — I  have  said,  with  thanks,  in 
reply  to  the  enclosed,  that  I  have  arranged  to  go 
with  you  to  the  Inn  during  my  brief  sojourn  of  one 
night  at  Grimsby. 

What  special  power  ecclesiastical  they  seem  to 
have  there !  They  have  already  made  me  a  Canon 
and  a  Rector,  and  may  perhaps  send  me  home — 
Yours  ever  affect'^, 


S:  R:  Southwell. 


To  David  Douglas. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
May  13,  1882. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  shall  ever  remember,  with  my 
most  grateful  appreciation,  the  brotherly  kindness 
with    which,    out  of  your   true   love  for  that  dear 


86  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

heart  which  is  still,  and  with  much  of  its  gentle 
spirit,  you  have  written  to  me.  You  have  lightened 
my  sorrow,  with  a  very  tender  consideration,  by 
reminding  me  that  it  was  my  great  privilege  in 
some  degree  to  promote  that  revival  of  energy 
which  brightened  the  evening  of  his  life,  and 
which  enabled  him,  to  his  own  happiness,  and 
the  happiness  of  thousands  who  delight  in  his 
genius,   to  amplify  and  revise  his  Works. 

The  complete  edition  which  you  sent  me  with 
such  genial  and  generous  sympathy  will  be  very 
precious,  and  the  pleasure  which  I  shall  always 
feel  when  I  see  my  poor  words  intermixed  with  his 
will  only  be  exceeded  by  that  far  brighter  joy,  the 
hope  of  our  reunion  hereafter. 

I  should  come  to  the  Funeral  if  I  could,  but  my 
wife  is  ill,  and  I  have  important  engagements  at 
home,  in  special  services  during  our  Rogation 
Days,  &c.  I  may  be  in  Edinburgh  in  September, 
having  an  invitation  to  a  great  Floral  Exhibi- 
tion from  my  friend  Mr.  John  Stewart,  and  if 
so  I  shall  hope  to  make  your  acquaintance,  to 
talk  with  you  of  "  that  good  grey  head  which 
all  men  knew "  and  only  knew  to  love,  and  to 
thank  you  again  for  remembering  with  such 
friendly  forethought, — Yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

This  letter  refers  to  Dr.  John  Brown,  author  of  "  Rab 
and    His  Friends,"  who  died   on   May  ii,   1882.     Hole 


CAUNTON    ROSES  87 

wrote  of  "his  admiration  of  all  things  pure  and  brave 
and  true ;  his  condemnation  of  meanness,  falsehood ; 
his  tenderness  and  compassion  for  the  desolate  and 
oppressed.  That  beautiful  head  'with  brains,  Sir'; 
that  face  so  bright  with  intellectual  power,  and  with 
the  purer  sunshine  of  a  Divine  charity." 


To  T.   B.  Hall. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
Jii?ie  7,  1882. 

My  dear  Friend, — I  accept  with  all  my  heart 
your  proposal  that  I  should  repeat  one  of  the 
happiest  visits  I  ever  enjoyed,  and  I  hope  to  be 
with  you  the  day  before  your  Show.  If  my 
roses  are  good,  my  gardener  shall  bring  some 
by  a  later  train,  reaching  Liverpool  via  Godling 
Junction,  at  4.5  a.m.,  if  I  do  not  misread  Brad- 
shaw.  Roses  here  look  very  clean  and  promising, 
tho'  not  much  earlier  than  usual,  owing  to  the 
check  given  to  them  by  the  pruning-knife,  when 
they  were  growing  so  rapidly.  My  Gloire  de 
Dijon,  on  the  chancel  of  the  church,^  has  had  300 
blooms  out  at  once,  and  the  Marechal  has  been 
grand  on  my  walls. 

Rubens,  Souvenir  d'un  ami,  Niphetos,  Anna 
Ollivier,  Marie  Van  Houtte,  and  Devoniensis  are 
flowering  well,  and  such  H.  P.'s^  as  have  recovered 

>  It  is  still  there,  hale  and  strong. 
^  Hybrid  perpetual  roses. 


88  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

from  the  winters   of   1879  and  '80  seem   likely  to 
follow  their  good  example. 
With  my  love  to  you  all — 

"  Sons  he  had,  and  daughters  fair, 
And  days  of  strength  and  glory  " 

—  I  remain,  yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


Nine  letters  which  follow  were  written  to  a  Caunton 
choir-boy,  James  Blackney,  who  was  educated  in  the 
village  school,  became  a  railway  worker  at  an  early 
age,  and  worked  his  way  up.  He  is  now  in  the  Railway 
Clearing  House.  Blackney  says  that  he  can  never  forget 
the  Dean's  goodness  and  friendship,  and  he  has  sent 
these  reminiscences  of  Caunton  days. 

"  Before  going  to  school,  we  used  to  go  to  the 
church  to  morning  prayer — at  least  those  who  liked 
to  go,  or  those  whose  parents  insisted  upon  their 
children  going.  At  first  I  was  not  disposed  to  go, 
but  I  had  a  dear  mother  who  allowed  me  no  option 
in  the  matter.  I  had  to  go.  The  disincHnation  to  go, 
however,  soon  passed  away,  because  I  enjoyed  the  fun 
of  running  or  walking  back  to  the  manor  with  a  number 
of  other  children,  with  '  Mester  Rennards  ' — frequently 
playing  at  waggon  and  horses  with  him — by  hanging 
on  to  his  coat-tails,  sometimes  a  dozen  or  more  of  us, 
and  letting  him  drag  us  along.  I  have  occasionally 
seen  one  of  the  tails  come  right  off,  with  which  we  came 
sprawling  to  the  ground,  much  to  his  amusement  and 
our  own.  When  we  reached  the  front  door,  we  would 
wave  our  hands  and  rush  back  to  school.  It  sometimes 
happened,  however,  that  we  received  a  nice  little  story 


DING-DONG  89 

book,  or  a  prayer  or  hymn  book,  and  sometimes — which 
we  Hked  best — a  penny  all  round.     I   should  not  like 
to  deny  that  these  little  presents  stimulated  our  church- 
going  principles.     It  was  the  'bribery  and  corruption' 
which    unkind    Nonconformists    used    to    say   't'    ould 
parson  got  the  kids  to  t'  church  '  for.     That  used  not 
to  trouble  me,  and  I  have  never  felt  any  compunction 
since  for  having  received  the  same.     In  a  little  while 
I  was  admitted  to  the  village  choir.     We  were  all  very 
stupid  choir-boys  ;  I  should  not  like  to  say  what  the  men 
were,  but  I  well  remember  it  used  to  take  us  about  a 
month  to  learn  a  new  tune  to  a  hymn,  or  a  new  chant. 
I  remember  at  our  second  lesson,  when  we  were  sup- 
posed to  have  learned  the  treble  clef,  lines  and  spaces, 
none  of  us  knew  the  second  space,  '  Mester  Rennards,' 
who  was  standing  by  with  an  amused  expression,  came 
and   whispered   in   my   ear,   '  H.'     He   had   no   sooner 
whispered   it,   than    I    gave    it   forth   as   my  own  ;   the 
laughter  that  followed  was  humiliating  in  the  extreme, 
and  the  taunts  that  followed,  when  we  got  out,  led  to 
a   fight.     When   the   church  was   restored   in   1869  we 
had    a    new    organ,   and    the    reopening    led    to    great 
festivities.     About   this    time    our    old    village    school- 
master,   Elvidge,   who    was    sexton,    bellringer,   parish 
clerk,  rate  collector,  and  everything  else  of  importance 
in  the  village  'next  t'  parson,'  left  the  village,  and  we 
had  a  new  schoolmaster  from  *  Lunnon.'      Before  Mr. 
Elvidge  left,  however,  he  had  taught  me  how  to  ring 
the  church  bells,  'Ding'  with  my  right  hand,  'Dong' 
with    my    left    foot,    and    '  Bell '    with    my    left    hand. 
Without  any  formal  appointment  as  successor,  I   per- 
formed the  duties  of  bellringer,  clerk  at  weddings  and 
funerals,  when  I  was  about  eleven  years  of  age.     This 
brought    me    into    contact    very    much    with    *  Mester 
Rennards,'  the  recollections  of  which  are  the  happiest 
of  my  life.     My  mother  used  to  take  care  that   I   got 


90  THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

up  to  ring  the  bells  for  morning  prayer  after  Mr. 
Elvidge  left,  but  about  this  time,  under  the  new  school- 
master, somehow  or  another  the  choir-boys  and  the 
children  who  used  to  go  in  the  old  schoolmaster's  time, 
as  I  have  said,  ceased  to  attend  or  have  frolics  back 
to  the  manor.  Many  and  many  mornings,  when  it  was 
wet  or  snowy  or  cold,  no  one  would  be  at  the  service 
except  our  two  selves.  On  the  first  occasion  this  hap- 
pened, I  seemed  surprised  to  think  that  we  should  go 
through  the  service  (though  in  a  shortened  form),  and 
he  seemed  to  read  my  thoughts.  When  we  got  back 
to  the  vestry,  he  said,  '  James,  did  you  suppose,  because 
no  one  has  come  to  church  this  morning,  that  we 
should  have  no  service  ?'  I  said,  'Yes,  sir,  I  don't  see 
the  good  of  it.'  '  Ah,  James,'  said  he,  '  it  is  our  duty 
to  have  morning  prayer,  whether  anybody  comes  or 
not.  Suppose  at  the  last  day  people  are  asked  why 
they  did  not  go  to  church  ?  and  they  answered.  Because 
no  service  was  held.'  I  made  no  answer,  but  although 
I  was  but  a  child,  I  saw  the  point ;  and  with  a  smile 
on  his  face  he  said,  'They  won't  be  able  to  say  that 
of  you  and  me,  James,  will  they  ?  '  One  morning  he 
was  at  church  before  I  was  ;  our  clock  was  wrong  or 
slow — there  was  no  clock  in  the  church  tower  then — 
and  I  looked  confused,  sheepish,  and  sorry.  He  was 
waiting  for  me  in  the  vestry,  and  as  I  thought  looked 
very  angry — I  muttered  out  that  I  was  very  sorry  and 
the  clock  must  be  slow.  He  assumed  a  very  severe 
look,  which  for  the  moment  made  me  very  uncom- 
fortable, and  said  in  very  peremptory  tones,  '  James, 
don't  you  know  what  to  do  with  a  slow  clock — a 
grandfather's  clock?'  I  said  tremblingly,  'No,  sir.' 
'  Kick  it,  my  boy,  kick  it ! '  whereupon  he  laughed,  and 
told  me  to  ring  the  bell  for  a  few  minutes  to  let  the 
people  know  there  was  a  service.  Although  this  was 
about  the   only  occasion   I  was  ever  so  late,   '  Mester 


THE    BELL-RINGER  91 

Rennards '  was  very  often  late  himself.  I  was  sup- 
posed to  start  ringing  at  8.15  for  8.30  service,  but  he 
was  often  ten  minutes  or  more  late  himself.  As  it  was 
very  cold  in  the  church  steeple  on  the  first  floor,  from 
where  the  bells  used  to  be  rung  at  that  time,  I  got  in 
the  habit  of  looking  from  an  aperture  in  the  tower 
for  him  leaving  the  manor,  and  directly  I  saw  him 
leave  the  front  door  of  the  manor,  I  would  start  ringing, 
and  continue  until  he  would  give  me  the  signal  from 
below  to  stop.  One  morning  I  was  watching  for  him 
as  usual,  but  there  was  no  sign  of  him.  I  began  to 
think  he  was  not  at  home — as  occasionally  happened. 
In  a  while,  however,  I  heard  a  voice  from  the  bottom 
of  the  spiral  staircase  of  the  steeple,  'James,  go  on 
ringing,  I  did  not  come  that  way  this  morning.'  I  was 
startled,  and  went  on  ringing  until  he  stopped  me. 
I  felt  he  had  bowled  me  out,  and  expected  a  '  wigging ' 
(as  they  say  in  Caunton)  when  I  got  downstairs  into 
the  vestry.  To  my  surprise,  however,  he  had  such  a 
merry  smile  on  his  face,  and  said,  *  You  know,  James, 
there  are  other  ways  from  the  manor  than  by  the  front 
door.'  I  looked  as  guilty  as  I  felt,  but  could  not  help 
smiling.  He  discovered  my  Httle  trick,  and  went  round 
by  the  back  way,  I  believe,  out  of  sheer  fun,  to  have 
the  laugh  of  me.  Some  of  the  old  folks  used  to  attend 
the  service,  mostly  old  pensioners  of  the  manor,  to 
whom  he  was  very  kind — so  kind  that  they  excited  the 
envy  of  many  in  the  village,  particularly  the  '  Ranters,' 
as  they  used  to  be  called,  those  who  attended  the 
Primitive  Methodist  Chapel.  *  Ah  !  all  they  go  for  is 
for  what  they  can  get  out  th'  parson,'  I  often  used  to 
hear. 

"  Sammy  Plummer,  Charlie  Cartwright,  Johnny  Hodg- 
kinson,  and  Nanny  Cartwright  were  regular  church- 
goers. Johnny  Hodgkinson  was  the  most  superior  of 
this  lot,  and  was  a  very  nice  old  man.     He  was  a  'cow 


92  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

doctor,'  and  was  generally  looked  upon  as  the  village 
vet.  I  have  seen  him  fetched  out  of  church  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  in  '  lambing  time,'  or  to  go  to  a  cow  that 
was  in  trouble  with  its  calf,  or  a  mare  with  its  foal. 
I  could  not  say  whether  this  was  done  as  an  advertise- 
ment or  not.  I  cannot  forget  that  morning  when 
Sammy  Plummer  was  complaining  to  Johnny  Hodg- 
kinson  about  his  'rheumatiz/  as  Mr.  Hole  and  I  were 
walking  down  the  church  path.  Sammy  used  only  to 
have  one  stick,  Johnny  used  to  walk  with  two ;  we 
overheard  Johnny  say  in  a  cheery  way,  'Why  don't 
you  drive  a  pair,  Sammy,  like  me  ? ' 

"After  so  many  years,  many  of  the  quaint  and  inter- 
esting events  in  my  boy  life  and  conversations  have 
passed  from  me,  but  as  I  write  another  one  comes 
to  me.  As  a  child,  I  used  to  see  the  Rufford  Hounds 
meet  in  the  '  Front  Croft ' — the  meadow  in  front 
of  the  manor-house,  and  I  also  remember  seeing  the 
Dean  in  a  hunting  suit.  I  realised  as  a  child  that  he 
loved  sport.  It  was  my  duty  every  Wednesday  and 
Friday  to  go  to  ring  the  bell,  and  take  part  in  the 
litany  service  at  lo  A.M.,  and  afterwards  return  to  school. 
One  day  Mrs.  Hole,  who  was  at  the  service,  asked  me 
to  stay  afterwards.  I  was  learning  my  notes  at  that 
time,  and  I  think  it  was  to  help  me  in  some  way.  Mr. 
Hole  had  left  the  church,  but  before  we  had  got  well 
started,  he  came  and  whispered,  'James,  the  hounds.' 
Mrs.  Hole,  I  think,  heard,  and  with  an  amused  look, 
as  if  wondering  what  would  be  the  result.  I  hardly 
liked  asking  to  be  excused.  She  seemed  to  read  my 
thoughts,  and  suggested  that  I  would  rather  see  the 
hounds  than  stop  to  music.  She  was  right.  The 
hounds  and  huntsmen  were  passing  through  the  village, 
and  Mr.  Hole  and  I  went  after  them  to  the  wood  for 
which  we  knew  full  well  they  were  making.  I  did  not 
get  back  to  school  that  morning." 


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ST.    PAUL'S   CHOIR  93 

To  James  Blackney. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
June  20,  1882, 

My  dear  James, — You  would  know,  when  you 
wrote,  the  pleasure  which  I  should  have  in  reading 
of  your  first  appearance  in  the  Choir  at  St.  Paul's, 
and  would  share  with  me  the  happy  anticipation  of 
a  day  when  we  shall  walk  in  that  House  of  God  as 
friends,  you  among  the  singers  going  before,  and  I 
among  the  priests  following  after.  I  read  your 
letter  to  your  mother  after  Matins  this  morning, 
and  she  listened  with  fond  tears  in  her  eyes. 

Not  much  village  news.  Sweet,  patient  Ruth 
Elvedge  has  just  returned  from  the  Nottingham 
Eye  Infirmary  without  the  eye  which  was  injured 
some  years  ago ;  and  Louisa  Gilbert  was  married 
this  morning. 

"  So  let  the  stricken  deer  go  weep, 
The  hart  ungalled  play, 
For  some  must  laugh,  and  some  must  weep, 
So  runs  the  world  away." 

— Always,  dear  James,  yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  James  Blackney. 


Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
July  14,  1884. 


Dear  James, — Your  continued  progress  onward 
and  upward  is,  I  can  assure  you,  a  source  of  hearty 


94     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

gratification  to  me,  and  I  offer  you  my  earnest 
congratulations  upon  the  last  addition  which  you 
have  made  to  your  song  "  Excelsior,"  and  upon 
your  successful  ascent  of  Mount  Parnassus. 

And  I  note  with  special  pleasure  that  you  have 
written  for  noble  purposes — the  relief  of  the  sick, 
in  your  plea  for  hospitals,  and  the  appreciation  of 
the  beautiful  in  your  appeal  for  the  cultivation  of 
railway  banks  (which  I  have  often  advocated),  and 
your  admiration  of  moonlit  Hastings.  If  the 
verses  signed  "Henry  Knight"  are  yours,  you 
should  lose  no  time  in  writing  a  song,  and  setting 
it  to  music. 

I  need  not  say  how  glad  we  shall  be  to  see  you 
both  at  Caunton  in  the  autumn.  I  am  very  busy,  as 
you  will  infer,  when  I  tell  you  that  since  the  year 
began  I  have  received  216  invitations  to  preach  or 
speak.  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  James  Blackney. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 

S.  X.  Trifiify,  August  17,  1884. 

My  dear  James, — I  so  much  sympathise  with 
the  admirable  article  on  "  Mind  and  Labour,"  it  is 
in  such  exact  accord  with  my  own  teaching  and 
preaching  as  to  "the  nobility  of  labour"  and  the 
deofradation  of  labourers,  that  I  shall  be  in  a  state 


HOLE    AND    METHODISTS  95 

of  anxious  suspense  until  I  know  who  wrote  it.  If 
it  is  from  your  head  and  heart,  the  confirmation  of 
my  hope  will  be  real  happiness  to — Your  sincere 
old  friend,  S.   Reynolds  Hole. 

Stick  to  Ruskin. 


To  James  Blackney. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  13,  1891. 

My  dear  James, — No  lady  in  the  land  is  so 
great,  so  rich,  so  happy,  as  your  dear  good  Chris- 
tian mother  in  her  rest  and  felicity.  With  the 
spirits  and  souls  of  the  righteous  she  will  pray  for 
you,  and  I  believe  for  me  also,  until  the  day  breaks 
and  the  shadows  flee  away. 

I  have  somewhere,  though  at  present  I  have 
searched  in  vain,  a  WilP  which  she  made  many 
years  ago,  leaving  all  she  had  to  you.  How  she 
loved  you,  and  what  a  blessed  memory  your  love 
for  her  will  always  be  to  you. — You  know  me  to  be, 
dear  James,  always  your  affectionate  friend, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


^  This  will  was  written  out  by  Hole,  and  witnessed  by  him  and 
George  Antliff,  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in  Primitive  Methodism, 
whose  brothers  were  heads  of  the  Primitive  connection  in  England. 
"  I  think,"  writes  Blackney,  "all  misunderstanding  has  passed  away, 
and  George  Antliff  in  his  declining  years  does  say  that  Dean  Hole 
was  a  good  man,  a  kind  man,  a  lover  .  ,  ,  of  his  fellow-men," 


96     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

To  James  Blackney. 

II  Prince's  Gardens,  S.W., 
Jutte  6,  1894. 

My  dear  James, — We  are  deeply  grieved  to 
hear  of  the  great  sorrow  which  darkens  your  heart 
and  home,  and  seems  to  hang,  like  a  thunder-cloud, 
between  you  and  happiness.  But  a  merciful  God 
will  set  His  Bow  in  that  cloud,  and  He  stands 
waiting  patiently  at  the  door,  Who  said,  "  I  will  not 
leave  you  comfortless — I  will  come  to  you." 

Be  sure,  dear  James,  of  my  prayers,  and  think  of 
your  darling  with  those  that  have  gone  before  in 
Paradise.  Give  our  tender  sympathies  to  your 
wife,  and  believe  me  to  remain  always,  in  tribula- 
tion or  in  prosperity, — Affectionately  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  James  Blackney. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
April  3,  1 897. 

Dear  James, — I  heartily  congratulate  you  on 
your  good  works,  and  on  the  progress  of  your 
boys.  I  often  look  with  affectionate  sympathy 
on  the  trio  in  their  surplices ;  and  this  reminds 
me  to  send  you  some  verses,  which  I  have  written 
for  the  commemoration  aforesaid.  We  think  Dr. 
Bridge's  music  to  my  hymn,  "O  King  of  Kings," 


GLADSTONE  97 

is  excellent,  and  it  will  be  played  in  the  Cathedral 
on  Sunday,  June  20,  by  the  band  of  the  Royal 
Engineers. 

As  for  the  "Nurses" — you  know  what  a  boon 
they  would  be  in  our  villages,  as  well  as  in  our 
cities. 

Yours  ever  sincerely,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  James  Blackney. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
May  27,  1898. 

My  dear  James, — I  greatly  admire  your  verses, 
and  heartily  and  humbly  repeat  the  prayer.  The 
lines  are  specially  appropriate  to  the  bright  luminary 
which  has  just  disappeared — Gladstone.  Do  you 
know  the  words  of  an  American  poet,  which  I  will 
write  on  opposite  page  ? — Yours  always  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

"  As  sometimes,  when  adown  the  western  sky 

The  fiery  sunset  lingers, 
The  golden  gates  close  inwards  noiselessly, 

Unlocked  by  angel  fingers  ; 
And  as  they  stand  a  moment  half  ajar, 

Gleams  from  the  inner  glory 
Shine  brightly  thro'  the  azure  vault  afar, 

And  half  reveal  the  story." 

In  earlier  years  Hole  was  an  unreserved  admirer  of 
Gladstone.  He  and  Bishop  Thorold,  who  were  at  the 
same  school — Mrs.  Gilbey's — at  Newark,  could  together 
recall  Gladstone  on  his  canvass  in  the  Middlegate,  and 
how  he   was  chaired   after  the  great  election  of   1832. 

G 


98     THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

"  I  recall  the  days  as  if  they  were  yesterday,"  said  Hole 
on  one  occasion,  "though  it  is  sixty  years  since,  when 
I  sat  next  to  Mr.  Gilbey,  joint  overseer,  at  breakfast,  and 
saw  him  with  yearning  eyes  take  every  morning  frizzled 
bacon — and  I  thought  at  that  time  in  my  little  mind 
that  if  ever  I  had  a  sufficient  income  to  justify  me  in 
having  frizzled  bacon,  there  would  be  little  left  in  this 
world  to  wish  for."  "Pickwick"  was  coming  out  in 
parts  when  Hole  was  at  this  school,  and  he  managed 
to  save  a  shilling  a  month — fifty  per  cent,  of  his  monthly 
income — to  buy  it ;  Dickens,  hearing  long  afterwards 
of  this,  said  that  it  was  one  of  the  best  compliments  ever 
paid  him. 

As  to  Gladstone's  first  election  at  Newark,  there  are 
very  few  men  who  can  recall  the  canvass  and  speeches, 
but  the  historian  of  the  place,  Mr.  Cornelius  Brown — 
a  Newark  friend  of  Hole's — has  told  me  the  substance 
of  an  interesting  talk  he  had  with  the  great  man  fifty 
years  later.  Gladstone  said,  "  I  never  worked  harder, 
or  slept  so  badly — that  is  to  say,  so  little."  Among  the 
incidents  impressed  on  his  mind  was  this  one  :  at  the 
close  of  the  first  day's  poll,  and  whilst  he  was  speaking 
from  the  Clinton  Arms  window,  a  man  flung  a  stone 
which  passed  within  a  foot  of  Gladstone's  head.  This 
man  was  seen,  and  caught  in  the  act.  "  I  understood 
at  the  time,"  said  Gladstone,  "that  he  arranged  the 
matter  by  voting  for  me  next  day." 


To  James  Blackney. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
October  15,  1902. 

My  dear  James, — It  is  always  a  pleasure  to 
hear  from  you,  and  I  am  glad  to  have  such  in- 
teresting  information    with    reference   to   the    new 


A    CHRISTIAN    GENTLEMAN  99 

Canon  of  Westminster,  of  whom  I  had  previously 
but  little  knowledge.  I  was  deeply  affected  by  our 
meeting  at  your  mother's  grave,  and  it  seems  some- 
times as  though  the  spirits  of  the  dead  were  with  us. 
— Yours  always  sincerely,      S.  Reynolds   Hole. 

To  James  Blackney. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  10,  1903. 

My  dear  James, — I  value  highly  your  pleasant 
words  and  kind  wishes,  always  admiring  your  duti- 
ful, beautiful  life,  and  recognising  your  claim  to  the 
most  honourable  of  all  titles,  that  of  a  Christian 
Gentleman. 

I  have  received  more  than  100  letters,  post-cards, 
and  telegrams,^  from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men, 
from  one  whose  address  is  "  Cabmen's  Shelter, 
Waterloo  Station,"  ascending  to  the  Seats  of 
the  Mighty,  so  that  you  will  excuse  brevity  from 
your  affectionate  old  friend, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HLS  Little  Nieces. 

Caunton  Manor, 

November  14,  1882. 

My  very  dear  May  and  Bessie, — I  am  highly 
delighted  with  the  beautiful  slippers  which  I  have 

'  Birthday  congratulations. 


100    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

just  received,  and  offer  my  best  thanks  for  a  gift, 
which  arrives  at  the  very  moment  when  I  most 
wanted  it,  when  from  each  of  the  old  worn-out  pair 
a  poor  little  toe  was  peeping  in  anxious  alarm  lest 
it  should  be  frost-bitten  in  the  coming  winter.  But 
now  all  fear  has  fled,  and,  like  Cinderella  in  her 
slippers  of  glass  (which  must  have  been  slippery  for 
dancing,  and  rather  unpleasant  if  a  clumsy  partner 
happened  to  tread  on  her  foot),  I  am  prepared  for 
the  Ball,  and  shall  quite  expect  to  be  the  Belle,  or 
rather  the  Beau,  at  the  very  next  which  I  attend, 
and  to  have  all  the  world  at  my  feet. 

You  must  come  to  Caunton  at  an  early  date  to 
see  how  lovely  I  look  in  my  decorations. 

Yours  most  affectionately. 

Uncle  Reyn. 


To  Archbishop  Benson. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
March  15,  1883. 

I  do  not  quite  know  how  to  address  one,  whom  I 
honour  so  reverently  as  my  Archbishop,  and  love 
so  unreservedly  as  my  friend,  because  tho'  there 
would  be  no  incongruity  in  kneeling  at  your  feet 
(not  for  the  first  time)  to  receive  your  blessing,  and 
then  enjoying  your  bright,  brotherly  converse,  it  is 
difficult  to  express  in  combination  the  feelings  which 


AS  ARCHBISHOP'S   CHAPLAIN  loi 

are  so  real  and  distinct  per  se.  And  I  find  myself 
yet  more  at  a  loss  for  words,  when  I  would  express 
my  most  grateful  appreciations  of  the  high  distinc- 
tion which  your  letter  confers.  With  all  my  heart, 
I  accept  an  invitation^  which  is  alike  irresistible 
from  its  authority  and  from  its  sweetness — a 
Royal  mandate,  set  to  music ;  and  with  all  my 
prayerful  hope,  that  He,  Who  sends  the  message, 
will  not  permit  the  unworthiness  of  His  servant 
to  mar  its  import,  I  will  come  to  Lambeth  and 
St.  Paul's. 

Please  offer  my  best  regards  to  Mrs.  Benson. 
There  must  be  a  sigh,  now  and  then,  for  that  peace- 
ful, happy  home  at  Kenwyn,  and  that  fair  view 
from  the  little  Churchyard  of  the  Fal,  flowing  on  to 
the  sea,  but  sad  sighs  will  only  make  new  ripples  in 
that  avripiO/uLov  yeXacr/jLu,  which  must  have  a  special 
glory  in  her  heart,  having  brought  so  much  light 
and  warmth  to  all,  who  love  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury. 

To  know  that  this  great  title  pertains  to  you  is 
indeed  a  happiness  to  yours,  my  dear  Archbishop, 
with  truest  respect  and  affection, — Most  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

1  To  be  the  Archbishop's  chaplain.  "  The  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury," observed  the  Church  Review  of  May  26,  "has  appointed 
Prebendary  Hole  to  be  one  of  his  chaplains.  This  is  the  gentle- 
man whom  the  Guardia7i  described  as  the  '  stalwart  champion  of 
Ritualism.'  We  wonder  what  will  happen  when  he  meets  Prebendary 
Cadnam,  another  of  his  Grace's  chaplains  ?  We  suppose  they  will  at 
once  proceed  to  knock  each  other  down." 


I02  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

To  THE  Rev.  R.   H.  Whitworth. 

^u^€.  ^,  /3SS 


/r^L^^   '^' 


ROSES  103 


To  T.   B.   Hall. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
Ju7ie  18,  1883. 

My  dear  Hall, — I  don't  like  the  writing  of  this 
letter.  I  feel  as  I  felt  in  childhood  when  they  were 
measuring  out  the  castor  oil  in  a  spoon  ;  or  when, 
in  boyhood,  it  was  suggested  "  that  kind  Mr. 
Crackjaw  ^\\o\AA  just  look  at  my  teeth." 

But  the  gulp  and  the  "  scrawnsh  "  must  come. 

My  Master,  the  Archbishop,  wishes  me  to  speak 
at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Church  Defence 
Society  in  London,  on  the  9th  of  July,  and  as  this 
is  his  first  invitation  to  duty  since  I  became  his 
Chaplain,  I  cannot  plead  pleasure  as  an  excuse. 

Regarding  the  Fete  des  Roses  at  Larchwood  as 
the  most  joyful  holiday  of  my  year,  from  my  first 
entrance  into  that  pleasant  home  until  you  chaperon 
me  to  the  Omnibus  at  the  gate  of  the  Show  ground, 
I  need  not  enlarge  on  my  disappointment.  The 
less  said  the  better. 

When  Dido  found  y^J^neas  did  not  come, 
She  mourned  in  silence,  and  was  Di  do  dum. 

Roses  are  improving  here  but  they  will  be  very 
late.  May  you  add  to  the  victories  which  your  zeal 
and  care  have  so  well  deserved.  Shall  you  be  at 
Sheffield?     If  so,   you  might  return  with  me  and 


104         'I'HE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

have  a  quiet  day's  talk  and  ramble.  With  kindest 
regards  and  most  obnoxious  regrets, — I  remain, 
yours  most  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Mrs.  Benson. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
November  5,  1883. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Benson, — For  two  reasons  I 
have  tried  to  satisfy  my  anxiety  concerning  my 
beloved  Master  with  the  information  which  I  found 
in  the  papers.  Because  "where  hearts  are  of  each 
other  sure,"  thoughts  are  known,  and  words  are 
needless  ;  and  because  I  would  not  add  to  a  corre- 
spondence, which  must  have  been  in  its  kindness 
cruel. 

But  now  my  silence,  yea  even  from  good  words, 
becomes  a  pain  and  grief  to  me,  and  I  am  constrained 
to  say  how  thankful  I  should  be  for  a  post-card 
bulletin,  however  brief. 

This  Strike  of  overworked  employes  was  always 
a  fear  to  those  who  knew  only  what  the  Archbishop 
was  doing  in  public  ;  surely  it  may  now  be  succeeded 
by  the  hope  that  he  will  be  satisfied  with  the  work 
of  two  or  three  ordinary  men. 

I  know  that  I  may  send  my  love  to  him,  and 
that  you  believe  me  to  be, — Most  sincerely  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


A    PRESENT 


105 


To  HIS   Little  Nieces. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
December  11,  1884. 

My  dearest  Vidy, 

My  dearest  Cicely, 

My  dearest  Judith, 

I  am  so  delighted  with  the  sweet  little  box  which 
you  have  sent  me,  and  shall  always  think,  when 
I  see  it,  how  kind  it  was  to  give  me  such  a  pretty, 
useful  gift.  How  I  wish  that  you  were  here,  that  I 
might  thank  you  with  the  lips,  instead  of  the  pen — 
not  only  with  words,  but  with  kisses.  I  send  you 
a  picture  of  your  poor  uncle  when  he  had  no  place 
to  put  his  pins, 


and  a  picture  of  him  now  on  receiving  your  present. 


io6 


THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 


Your  more  than  ever  loving 


Uncle  Reynolds. 


To  THE  Rev.  R.  H.  Whitworth. 


Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
Christmas  Day  1884. 

Your  genial  words,  my  very  dear  Brother,  "  set 
the  echoes  flying,"  like  Tennyson's  Bugle,  in  my 
responsive  heart,  which  prays  all  true  happiness 
for  you  and  yours.  Thanks  for  the  extracts,  which 
I  return,  and  hope  to  see  in  print.  What  a  sweet 
word,  charming  name  for  a  doll  or  small  dog,  is 
"  wara7itizabunty      Please    tell    Evelyn,    with    my 


THE    NEW    MOON 


107 


love,  how  much  I  admire  and  appreciate  the  pretty 
Christmas  card. 

Can  you  tell  how  it  comes  to  pass,  that,  if  you 
bow  three  times  to  the  new  moon,  the  first  [time] 
you  see  it  (not  thro'  glass),  you  are  sure  shortly  to 
receive  a  gift.  Owing  to  a  recent  obeisance,  I 
have  had  a  pair  of  winter  gloves,  a  book,  a  blotting 
pad,  a  pincushion,  and  a  barrel  of  oysters. 


Yours  ever  affectionately, 


S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


io8         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  T.  B.   Hall. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
S.  n.  Epiphany,  ^January  i8,  1885]. 

My  dear  Hall, — The  Protestant  protest  is  so 
unwise  and  so  unjust  that  I  have  sent  a  few  words 
of  remonstrance  to  the  "  Liverpool  Courier,"  which 
will  appear,  I  suppose,  on  Tuesday.  Just  when 
Christianity  needs  all  its  auxiliaries  to  battle  against 
sin  and  unbelief,  there  is  something  very  sad  in  a 
number  of  clergymen  coming  forward  as  accusers 
of  the  brethren,  because  they  do  not  work  in  the 
same  yard,  or  use  precisely  the  same  tools,  as 
themselves. 

I  must  hurry  home  from  Liverpool,  for  I  am 
working  against  time.  I  conduct  the  Mission  at 
St.  Paul's,  Knightsbridge,  Feb.  7  to  17,  giving  an 
address  at  12  and  sermon  at  8.  \  greatly  admire 
the  Penny  Dinners,  and  congratulate  you  on  the 
Transformation  at  St.  Paul's.  I  shall  not  be  happy 
until  Mrs.  Hole  has  been  to  Larchwood.  She 
would  delight  in  the  cart  horses.  Alas,  I  have  no 
time  to  write  to  you  as  I  should  wish,  but  must 
sign  myself  yours  in  haste  as  well  as  in  heart, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  THE  Hon.  Mrs.  Francklin. 

January  22,  1885. 

My  dear  Alice, — Of  the  many  who  love  you, 
few   have  prayed   more  earnestly,   throughout  this 


LORD   ST.  VINCENT  109 

sorrowful  day,  that  God  would  be  with  you,  and 
your  brave  brother,  than — Yours  ever  affec- 
tionately, S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

This  letter  was  written  on  hearing  that  Mrs.  Francklin's 
brother,  Lord  St.  Vincent,  had  been  mortally  wounded 
at  Abu  Klea.  Preaching  after  the  garrison  parade  at 
York  Minster  in  April,  Hole  referred  to  St.  Vincent  as 
a  Christian  hero — "  One  who  was  utterly  unselfish,  es- 
teeming others  better  than  himself,  one  who  was  so 
gentle  yet  so  brave.  St.  Vincent  needed  no  title  to  say 
that  he  was  a  noble  man.  It  was  pleasant  to  think  of 
him  reading  lessons  in  his  little  parish  church  ;  bringing 
home  soldiers  that  were  ill  and  sick  that  they  might  enjoy 
and  benefit  from  the  country  air  ;  and  at  last,  just  before 
the  fatal  operation,  giving  directions  that  they  whom  he 
esteemed  the  most  should  receive  his  bounty  when  that 
brave  heart  was  cold." 


To  T.  B.   Hall. 

Caunton  Manor, 

January,  24,  1885. 

My  dear  Hall, — I  have  to  speak  at  a  Meeting 
of  Working  Men  in  Derby  on  Thursday  evening, 
and  hope  to  reach  Liverpool  at  1.20  p.m.  on  Friday, 
so  that  I  may  have  the  afternoon  for  work.  It 
would  be  a  great  pleasure  to  grasp  your  hand,  and 
have  a  smile  from  your  beaming  eye,  if  you  can 
kindly  realize  your  suggestion,  and  meet  me  at  the 
Central  Station. 

I  was  preaching  at  Macclesfield  on  Wednesday, 


no    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

and  heard  high  praise  of  your  new  Bishop.  He 
had  greatly  encouraged  the  Church  people  by  a 
most  unmistakeably  Catholic  Sermon. 

I  should  think  that  those  "  four  and  twenty  black- 
birds," who  petitioned  the  great  crow  to  kill  all  the 
thrushes,  must  find  themselves  "  baked  in  a  pie." — 
With  best  regards,  yours  ever  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  HIS  Wife. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
Sunday,  \December  12,  i< 

Own  Dearest, — The  Oxonians  were  in  such 
joyful  spirits  at  my  arrival  that  they  set  fire  to 
one  of  the  Colleges  —  Queen's.  .  .  .  They  only 
burnt  a  part  of  it — nevertheless,  it  was  a  pretty 
feu  de  Joie,  and  a  very  brilliant  idea. 

We  had  a  large  congregation,  which  was 
a  real  compliment  as  many  are  gone  down, 
and  the  afternoon  sermons  are  never  well 
attended. 

I  breakfasted  with  the  Principal  and  have  made 
friends  with  the  Dons.  ...  I  dined  last  night 
with  Louis  Hilton's  friend,  Pickard,  and  met 
another  of  his  old  allies,  so  like  him  that  they  would 
be  a  marvellous  pair  for  a  phaeton.  I  go  to 
London  to-morrow  at  9.5. — Very  lovingly  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


A    DOG'S   LETTER  iii 

WRITTEN   FOR   MRS.  HOLE'S   PET   DOG. 

"  Love  me,  Love  my  Dog." 

Door  Mat,  Mother's  Room, 
Caunton  Manor,  Novetnber  i8,  1886, 

Dearest  Mama, — I  am  "a  sad  dog." 

Fair  Eleanor  is  gone,  and  I  have  reason  to  fear 
that  she  is  engaged — I  may  say  very  much  engaged 
— to  a  beastly  little  cur  at  Wellow,  whom  I  will 
chaw  up,  the  first  time  I  meet  him  ;  and  just  now 
you  are  gone,  and  it  seems  to  me,  that  as  "  every 
dog  must  have  his  day,"  I  have  had  mine,  and  I 
almost  wish  that  I  might  be  treated  as  was  one 
of  my  ancestors,  who  belonged  to  a  Mr.  Thompson, 
and  "  one  morning,  instead  of  giving  him  his 
breakfast,  they  took  him  out  and  'anged  'im." 

I  have  barked  a  good  deal,  being  informed  that 
Bark  was  a  tonic,  but  it  does  not  seem  to  strengthen 
me  much  :  and  I  have  taken  to  whine,  but  it  does 
not  exhilarate.      I  don't  get  no  forrader. 

Papa  is  kind,  but  is  much  engaged,  and,  when 
he  is  not  engaged,  he  seems  rather  glum  :  and  so 
I  am  friendless,  with  the  exception  of  one  kind- 
hearted  flea,  who  does  his  best  to  attract  my 
attention. 

I  am  like  the  soldier,  of  whom  I  have  heard 
Uncle  Freddy  relate  that,  just  before  going  into 
battle,    he    remarked,    "Mr.    Burnaby,    Sir,   I    feel 


112  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

very  hill."  Please  ask  Mr.  Scamp,  with  my  re- 
spectful compliments,  whether  he  has  ever  been 
in  love,  and  whether  he  knows  of  anything  good 
for  the  complaint. 

Papa  calls  me,  and  I  have  just  replied,  "  Whistle, 
and  I'll  come  to  thee,  my  Love." — -So  no  more  at 
present  from  your  affectionate  child, 

Pompom  Docko, 


To  T.  Francis  Rivers. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
August  b,  1886. 

Dear  Mr.  Rivers, — I  propose  to  write,  if  I 
can  find  the  time,  an  article  on  Roses  for  "  The 
Quarterly  Review,"  having  received  editorial  ap- 
probations. Will  you  kindly  inform  me  when 
"  The  Rose  Amateur's  Guide  "  was  first  published 
by  my  beloved  friend,  your  father  ?  I  have  "  A 
new  descriptive  Catalogue  of  Roses,  cultivated 
and  sold  by  Thomas  Rivers  and  Son,"  and  issued 
in  1834  (probably  the  first  important  Catalogue 
ever  published)  ;  but  I  have  only  the  Third  Edition 
of  the  book  (followed,  of  course,  by  many  others, 
sent  to  me  by  the  dear  hand  that  wrote)  and  do 
not  know  the  date  of  their  predecessors. 

That  grand  grey  head  is  ever  in  the  battery 
of  my  thoughts,  and  I  shall  always  regard  it  with 
true  affection. — Sincerely  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


ENGLISH    CHURCH   UNION  113 


To  T.  Francis  Rivers. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
August  (),  1886. 

Dear  Mr.  Rivers, — I  am  delighted  to  have 
the  Editio  Princeps  of  your  dear  Father's  book 
on  the  Rose.  No  one  can  prize  it  more  heartily 
than  his  old  pupil  and  friend. 

To  that  little  book  we  owe  the  great  develop- 
ment of  Rose-love  and  Rose-lore,  which  has 
gradually  increased  in  this  country  since  it  was 
published. — Yours  very  gratefully, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Lord  Halifax. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
August  31. 

My  dear  Lord  Halifax, — Convinced  that,  as 
president  of  the  English  Church  Union,  you  have 
lost  a  great  opportunity  for  the  promotion  of  order 
and  peace  by  advising  the  lay  members  to  "  stand 
by  and  help  those  priests  who  may  feel  that  they 
must  resist  the  officers  of  the  Church,"  which  simply 
means  that  the  laity  must  obey,  but  that  the  clergy 
may  disobey,  those  who  are  set  over  them  in  the 
Lord  ;  that  the  soldiers  must  follow  the  cap- 
tains, but  that  the  captains  may  follow  their  own 

H 


114         THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

imaginations,  I  am  constrained  to  notify  to  the  sec- 
retaries and  to  others  my  withdrawal  from  the  union. 
I  shall  never  lose  my  grateful  appreciation  of  the 
work  which  you  have  done  in  the  past,  and  I  hope 
to  retain  in  the  future  the  privilege  of  your  friend- 
ship.— Yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  T.  Francis  Rivers. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
September  2%,  1886. 

Dear  Mr.  Rivers, — At  last  I  return  the  very 
precious  book,  which,  with  a  generous  confidence, 
you  so  kindly  lent  to  me.  I  have  been  working 
against  time,  since  I  received  it,  and  have  only 
just  now  found  leisure  to  peruse  it.  What  innocent 
happenings  that  book  has  diffused  throughout  the 
land.  It  is  more  than  forty  years  since  I  devoured 
it,  little  thinking  that  the  author  would  ever  sign 
himself,  in  writing  to  me  :  "  Once  your  Master,  now 
your  Pupil."  Kindly  said  by  the  dear  old  man, 
but  he  had  forgotten  more  than  I  ever  knew. 

How  I  loved  and  love  him ! — Gratefully  and 
sincerely  yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HIS  Wife. 

Caunton  Manor, 
Thursday,  {February  6,  1887]. 

Maymie  saw  those  sweets  as  they  passed  through 
Newark,  and  she  brought  home  a  parcel  of  flowers, 


THE   CAUNTON   SQUEEZE  115 

which    I     have    transferred    to    our    Professor    ot 

Botany.     Dear  old  Lady  ,  though  she  is  the 

milk  of  human  kindness,  does  not  respond  to  the 
Caunton  Squeeze,  but  says,  "  if  we  collect  £"]^, 
she   will    present  the    final    ^i."       She    has   been 

taught    caution    by    the    parishioners    of   ,    to 

whom  she  wrote  that  she  would  dotible  whatever 
they  collected — and  they  collected  ^33. 

The  weather  and  the  landscape  can  only  be 
described  as  heavenly.  I  am  just  starting  for 
Cromwell  Ruridecanal  Meeting,  then  dine  with 
our  George.  Wish  I  was  home  again — and  you 
were  back  with  your  lilacs,  laburnums,  clipped 
sheep,  foals,  young  turkeys,  and  loving  husband, 

Reynolds. 


To  HIS  Wife. 

GORSEBROOK   HOUSE,  WOLVERHAMPTON, 
Wednesday^  February  7,  1887. 

The  Congress  is  successful.  I  have  just  lunched 
with  the  Mayor,  and  brother  of  Canon  Vincent 
Jackson,  who  sat  opposite  to  me  at  table,  and 
stood  opposite  to  me  for  the  proctorship.  We 
are  now  good  friends.  There  is  to  be  a  grand 
gathering  of  Working  Men  to-night,  and  the 
Bishop  of  Lichfield  has  just  paid  me  the  compli- 
ment of  asking  me  to  speak  last,  "because,"  he 
says,    "  they  won't  listen   to  anybody  afterwards." 


ii6    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

It's  all  very  nice,  but  only  makes  me  wish  that   I 
could  do  more  practical  work  for  the  men. 

I  must  attend  to  my  speech,  and  sign  myself, — 
Lovingly  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  T.  B.  Hall. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
July  13,  1887. 

My  dear  Hall, — Travelling  on  dusty  railways, 
and  preaching  in  crowded  churches,  during  the 
intense  and  continuous  heat,  I  have  been  unable 
to  contend  with  my  enemy,  Hay  Fever,  and  have 
been  compelled  to  give  up  several  engagements. 
Resting  in  the  shade,  and  inhaling  these  cooler 
breezes,  I  am  gradually  resuming  my  virility  ; 
presided  at  a  very  interesting  meeting  of  "The 
Railway-men's  Christian  Association "  at  Newark 
last  night,  but  am  not  yet  fit  for  foreign  service. 

I  positively  dread  the  rail,  and  most  reluctantly 
and  regretfully  abandon  the  hope  of  brotherly 
"  love  among  the  roses  "  this  year  on  the  banks 
of  the  Mersey.  I  shall  try  to  get  to  Manchester, 
my  last  chance  of  doing  homage  to  the  Queen  of 
the  Garden,  but  don't  feel  very  sanguine.  Absent 
or  present,  I  am  ever,  with  kindest  regards, — Most 

sincerely  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


THE   ROSARIAN  117 

A  ROSARIAN' S   VICTORY. 

To  T.  B.   Hall. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
Thicrsday,July  14,  1887. 

Grand — Nurra ! 
Glorious — Nurra  ! ! 
Goloptious — Nurra  ! ! ! 

Quite  as  well  I  was  not  at  Edinburgh.  The 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  might  have  been  per- 
turbed, and  the  Municipal  Authorities  of  Liverpool 
perplexed,  to  hear,  that  the  Revd.  Canon. Hole  and 
T.  B.  Hall,  Esq.,  were  seen  dancing  a  Scotch  reel  in 
Highland  costume,  round  a  Box  of  Roses, — Bag- 
pipes obligate  by  the  Revd.  H.  H.  D'Ombrain.^ 

And,  tho'  defeated,  *'  merrily  danced  the  quaker's 
wife,  and  merrily  danced  the  quaker,"  from  Darling- 
ton, in  honour  of  one  whom  all  Rosarians  love.  I 
am  much  better,  and  if  I  can  get  to  Larch  Wood  on 
Tuesday  night,  I  will.  The  news  of  your  victory 
seems  to  brighten  my  spirits  like  a  sunbeam. — Your 
hip-hip-hipishly  and-one-cheer-moreishly, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

George  Henry  Powell,  to  whom  the  following  letters 
were  written,  was  a  workman  in  a  factory  at  Derby.  He 
corresponded  regularly  for  many  years  with  Dean  Hole, 

'  The  well-known  rose-grower,  founder  of  the  National  Rose 
Society,  and  editor  of  "  The  Rosarian's  Year-Book." 


ii8         THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

who  was  much  attached  to  him,  and  he  was  a  visitor  to 
Caunton  and  to  Rochester.  Powell  was  a  man  of  con- 
siderable gifts  ;  an  ingenious  hand  at  ornamental  and 
other  iron  work ;  great  in  physical  and  moral  courage  ; 
unfretful  in  extreme  suffering.  His  faith  as  a  Christian 
was  as  unquestioning  as  a  little  child's,  yet  it  was  the 
faith  of  a  strong  man  in  its  w411  and  intensity.  A  note 
of  deep  melancholy  runs  through  his  letters  to  Dean 
Hole.  He  was  in  grief  for  a  long  time  through  the  loss 
of  his  son,  who  was  killed  by  a  terrible  accident  in  the 
factory.  One  of  his  letters  describing  his  state  then  is 
very  moving.  He  says  that  whenever  he  tries  to  work, 
faintness  attacks  him — and  work  with  such  a  nature,  we 
know,  is  often  prayer  in  another  form.  But  in  the  most 
dreadful  misfortunes  there  is  a  resignation,  a  sort  of 
glory  in  the  burden,  which  is  the  privilege  of  men  of  this 

character. 

"  An  infant  crying  in  the  night, 
An  infant  crying  for  the  light, 
And  with  no  language  but  a  cr>','' 

expresses  well  the  state  of  many  highly-educated  men 
and  women  in  the  racking  trials  of  life ;  but  Powell 
never  seems  to  be  in  perplexity — everything  that  happens 
or  can  happen  simply  goes  to  confirm  him  in  the  belief 
in  God  and  the  desire  to  bend  to  God's  Will. 


To  George  Powell. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 

6'vS'.  Sii)ion  andjude,  1887. 

My  dear  Brother  in  Christ, — I  have  been  on 
my  knees  more  than  once  since  I  received  the  tid- 
ings of  your  terrible  bereavement,  praying  that  the 
only  Comforter  may  come  into  your  poor  bleeding 


GEORGE    POWELL  119 

heart.  Vain  is  the  help  of  man,  however  kindly- 
it  be  offered,  in  such  an  overwhelming  sorrow,  but 
"  God  is  our  Hope  and  Strength,  a  very  present 
help  in  trouble."  His  Hand  is  heavy  upon  you, 
but  it  is  the  hand  of  our  Father ;  the  burden  seems 
greater  than  you  can  bear,  but  it  is  the  Cross. 

Dear  Brother,  do  not  be  disheartened,  because 
you  cannot  pray  as  you  would  wish,  or  because 
your  natural  grief  seems  to  overpower  your  spiritual 
faith,  or  because  all  things  seem  to  be  confused,  and 
you  are  bewildered,  and  almost  in  despair,  only  do 
your  best  to  be  resigned,  to  "  be  still  and  murmur 
not,"  and  God  in  His  own  good  time  will  set  the 
rainbow  of  hope  upon  the  black  cloud  of  your 
sorrow,  and  "the  times  of  refreshing  shall  come 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord." 

And  tell  your  dear  wife,  that,  as  surely  as  our 
Lord  Jesus  restored  her  son  to  the  weeping  mother 
at  Nain,  so  will  He  give  her  back  her  boy,  at  the 
Resurrection,  ♦ 

"  When  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile. 
Which  we  have  loved  long  since,  and  lost  awhile." 

"Speedily  was  he  taken,  lest  that  wickedness 
should  alter  his  understanding,  or  deceit  beguile 
his  soul."  Think  of  him  as  safe  on  the  shore, 
and  waiting  to  welcome  you  there. 

May  the  Lord  be  with  you  both,  and  with 
your  loving  brother  in  Christ, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


120         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  George  Powell. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
December  31,  1887. 

Dear  Brother  in  Christ, — I  was  much  inter- 
ested in  your  letter,  and  I  cannot  doubt  but  that 
God  will  bless  your  endeavours  to  help  those  who 
are  least  able  to  help  themselves,  and  not  only  to 
relieve  their  bodily  wants,  but  to  speak  to  them  of 
their  immortal  souls,  and  of  the  Infinite  Love, 
which  died  and  lives  to  save  them — to  "tell  them 
the  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  His  Love." 

How  thoughtful  and  kind  of  the  good  Bishop  to 
send  flowers  for  the  dear  boy's  grave!  I  wonder 
whether  the  angels  told  him  in  Paradise,  and  how 
his  father  is  trying  to  do  good,  until  "  we  meet  to 
part  no  more." 

I  have  had  about  400  letters  of  congratulation,^ 
but  none  have  pleased  me  more  than  those  which 
have  come  from  various  branches  of  the  Church  of 
England  Working  Men's  Society. 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  George  Powell. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
October  29,  1891. 

My  dear  Old  Friend, — I  am  to  preach  to  the 
Church  of  England  Working  Men's  Society  on 
Monday    next  at    8    p.m.    in    St.    Alban's    Church, 

^  On  his  appointment  to  the  Deanery  of  Rochester. 


THE   CHRISTMAS   DINNER  121 

Sneinton,  Nottingham,  and  I  need  not  say  that  it 
would  be  a  great  happiness  to  me  to  take  your 
hand  in  mine  once  more. 

Try  to  remember  that  God  has  done  what  was 
best  for  your  dear  boy,  dehvering  him  out  of  the 
temptations  and  sorrows  of  a  sinful  world,  and 
ever  repeat  to  yourself  the  Blessed  Saviour's  words, 
"  Thy  Son  Liveth." 

With  kind  regards,  I  remain, — Yours  always 
sincerely,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

We  often  look,  with  delightful  memories,  at  the 
Derby  China  given  to  us  by  working  men. 

FOR    THE   CHRISTMAS  DINNER. 

To  George  Powell. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  11,  1892. 

Dear  Friend, 

Goose  or  Turkey  ? 

Sincerely  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  George  Powell. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
January  4,  1893. 

Dear  Friend, — I  am  much  pleased  with  the 
papers  which  you  have  sent  me,  and  I  hope  some 
day  to  bring  before  many  readers  (i)  the  power  of 


122         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

sympathy  between  all  classes  in  the  Palace  or  the 
Foundry,  and  (2)  how  a  working  man  can  bowl 
out  a  Marquis  when  the  latter  doesn't  play  with  a 
straight  bat.  With  all  good  wishes,  and  pleasant 
recollections  of  your  visit,  I  remain, — Your  sincere 
friend,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  George  Powell. 

CoMRiE,  Perthshire, 
September  25,  1895. 

My  dear  Old  Friend, — You  have  often  been  in 
my  thoughts  since  that  glorious  victory,  when  you 
and  others  of  your  mind  knocked  King  Braggadocio 
off  his  throne,  and  chose  King  Christian  to  reign  in 
his  stead.  I  am  more  than  ever  in  love  with  the 
working  men  at  Derby,  and  more  than  ever  proud 
to  have  friends  among  them. 

I  met  Mr. ,  who  is  visiting  in  this  neighbour- 
hood, a  few  days  ago,  and  we  were  so  pleased  with 
each  other  that,  if  we  had  had  a  Piper,  we  should 
have  danced  a  Scotch  reel  together. 

I  have  promised  to  preach  for  the  Derby  Hospital 
(do  you  remember  our  meeting  there  .<* )  on  the  even- 
ing of  Nov'  6  (Wednesday)  in  the  Church  of  All 
Saints,  and  I  need  not  say  how  pleased  I  shall  be 
to  grasp  your  hand  and  see  your  face  again. — With 
love  from  Mrs.  Hole  and  myself  to  you  and  to 
yours,   I   remain,  yours  always  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


RETIRING    FROM    FOREIGN    SERVICE     123 

To  George  Powell. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester,   • 
Ju7te  30,  1897. 

Long  may  you  smoke  the  Pipe  of  Peace,  my  dear 
old  friend,  with  your  good  wife  by  your  side,  loyal 
to  Church  and  Queen,  and  doing  your  best  for 
Christ's  glory,  and  the  welfare  of  your  fellowmen. 

I  have  been  for  some  time  under  the  doctor,  first 
with  gout,  then  influenza,  then  hay  fever,  and  am 
consequently  in  a  somewhat  low  condition.  Other- 
wise I  should  have  accepted  an  invitation  from  the 
Bishop  of  Derby  to  address  some  of  my  dear  old 
friends  in  your  Drill  Hall  on  the  Sunday  before  the 
Church  Congress  at  Nottingham,  Sept.  28.  But 
I  don't  feel  equal  to  the  effort,  much  as  I  should 
enjoy  the  meeting,  and  I  cannot  any  longer  shut 
my  eyes  to  the  fact  that  I  must  resign  as  Member 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  must  restrict  my  atten- 
tions to  the  Home  Office. — With  kind  regards, 
yours  always  sincerely,         S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

We  are  just  starting  for  our  old  Home  at  Caunton, 
both  wanting  change  of  air  and  rest. 

To  T.  B.   Hall. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
Saturday,  March  12,  1887. 

My  dear  Hall, — I  hope  to  arrive  in  Liverpool 
at   11.30  A.M.    on   Monday,   and   have    most  happy 


124         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

anticipations  of  reunion  with  beloved  friends.  I 
read  with  pleasure  in  this  day's  "Church  Review" 
that  the  attendance  at  the  midday  service  at  St. 
Nicholas  has  been  "  very  fair."  Several  invita- 
tions have  come  to  me  from  Liverpool,  and  I 
could  not  refuse  Bell  Cox  or  the  Founder  of  St. 
Agnes.  The  rest  I  have  declined,  and  as  these 
include  an  appeal  from  the  Mersey  Mission  to 
Sailors,  I  do  not  see  my  way  to  "The  Indefatigable." 
I  have,  in  fact,  undertaken  as  much  as  I  can  well 
do,  and  for  this  shall  have  to  work  from  hand  to 
mouth,  that  is,  from  pen  to  pulpit.  I  am  deeply 
grieved  by  the  decision  in  the  Queen's  Bench 
Division  yesterday,  but  "  He  Who  now  letteth 
will  let,"  in  His  Own  time  and  way.  Great  are  the 
troubles  of  the  righteous,  but  the  Lord  delivereth 
him  out  of  them  all. — Yours  ever  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  T.  B.   Hall. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
Christmas  Eve,  1887. 

My  dear  Hall, — I  have  a  sure  conviction  that 

of  all  the  congratulations  ^  which   I  have  received, 

some  hundreds,  none  have  been  more  hearty,  very 

few  so  hearty,  as  those  from  my  beloved  friends  at 

Larchwood.      I    know  those  bright  eyes  of  yours 

1  On  his  appointment  to  Rochester. 


THE   DEANERY  125 

would  sparkle  when  they  saw  the  news,  and  that 
you  would  read  it,  even  more  joyfully,  in  your 
unselfish  sympathy,  than  the  "First  Prize  and 
Cup"  so  dear  to  the  Rosarian's  gaze. 

We  have  been  to  inspect  Rochester,  and  met 
with  a  most  kindly  reception.  The  Deanery  is  a 
large  rambling  old  house,  and  there  is  a  spacious 
garden,  with  no  signs  of  horticulture !  We  want 
a  gardener  who  loves  out-door  flowers  (there  is  no 
glass),  and  is  not  afraid  of  work.  Can  you  tell  me 
of  such  a  man  ? 

Affectionately  yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  J.  Henry  Shorthouse  ^ 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
Jioie  25,  1888. 

My  dear  Hero, — I  have  not  many,  and  there- 
fore am  more  proud  than  a  preacher  of  Humility 
ought  to  be  to  have  such  a  genial  letter  from  John 
Inglesant.  It  encourages  me  to  express  the  hope 
that  he  will  some  day  send  me  a  still  brighter 
gladness  in  an  announcement  that  he  is  coming  to 
the  Deanery  for  as  hearty  a  welcome  as  we  can 
give  to  him,  and,  if  such  an  additional  pleasure 
be  possible,  to  Mrs.   Shorthouse. 

^  Author  of  "John  Inglesant." 


126    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

By  that,  which  some  term  "  a  strange  coinci- 
dence," but  which  occurs  to  the  observant  so 
frequently  as  to  be  no  longer  strange,  I  shall 
meet  Miss  Wordsworth,  the  chief  writer  of  the 
biography,  at  dinner  to-night,  and  I  know  that  I 
may  give  her  the  happiness  of  reading  your 
letter. 

Polycletus  carved  such  a  perfect  model  of  a 
man  that  the  sculptors  of  his  day  accepted  it  as 
"  the  rule."  I  regard  Christopher  Lincoln  as  the 
rule  for  an  English  Catholic. — With  kindest  re- 
gards, yours  most  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


This  is  the  only  letter  to  the  author  of  "John 
Inglesant"  which  I  have  been  able  to  obtain.  There 
is  a  reference  to  the  friendship  between  Dean  Hole 
and  J.  Henry  Shorthouse  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hugh 
Hole  later  on:  it  was  intimate  and  delightful.  Mrs. 
Shorthouse  says  that  the  letter  here  given  must  have 
been  written  at  the  time  Miss  Wordsworth  was  writing 
the  Life  of  Bishop  Wordsworth.  She  recalls  a  visit 
which  she  and  her  husband  paid  to  Rochester  in  1888  : 
*'  I  remember  that  one  of  the  many  interesting  people 
who  met  us  at  dinner  advised  the  Dean  to  visit  the 
House  for  Six  Poor  Travellers  in  the  city  made  famous 
by  Charles  Dickens.  So  the  Dean  took  us  there  next 
day,  and  a  most  interesting  place  it  was."  To  this  place 
Shorthouse  referred  in  a  letter  written  to  Dean    Hole 


m  i< 

"Turning    over    the    other   day   Walpool's    'British 
Traveller,'  which  has  been  a  favourite   of  mine    since 


POOR   TRAVELLERS'    HOUSE  127 

my  childhood  when  I  used  to  delight  in  it  in  my  grand- 
mother's country  house,  I  came  on  the  following  notice 
of  the  Poor  Travellers'  House  at  Rochester.  As  far  as 
I  remember  we  were  very  vague  about  the  reason  of  the 
inscription,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  Proctors,  when  we 
spent  those  delightful  hours  with  you.  Whether  the 
account  given  is  correct  or  not,  there  is  a  quaint- 
ness  about  the  passage  which  I  hope  may  entertain 
Mrs.  Hole  and  yourself.  Walpool's  'Traveller,'  London, 
1784:  'They  have  .  .  .  also  an  almshouse  where 
six  poor  travellers  are  allowed  to  lodge,  and  in  the 
morning  they  receive  four  pence.  The  place  is  greatly 
improved,  and  many  of  the  poor  inhabitants,  who  have 
no  visible  livelihood,  are  set  to  work  in  it,  and  during 
the  summer  it  is  generally  full  of  lodgers.  It  was 
founded  by  one  Richard  Watts,  whose  will  expresses 
that  no  person  afflicted  with  any  contagious  distemper 
shall  be  admitted  into  it,  nor  any  rogues,  vagabonds,  or 
proctors.  We  believe  it  is  but  seldom  that  proctors 
come  to  almshouses,  the  follies  and  vices  of  mankind 
procuring  them  a  considerable  fortune,  but  Mr.  Watts 
had  good  reason  for  excluding  any  of  that  fraternity 
from  his  charity,  for  having  employed  one  of  them  to 
make  his  will,  whilst  he  lay  sick,  the  villain  devised  the 
whole  to  himself,  but  his  roguery  was  discovered  and 
detected  by  the  recovery  of  the  patient.' 

"  I  have  read  with  very  great  pleasure  your  temperance 
sermon  in  '  The  Guardian.'  I  need  not  say  how  much  I 
admire  it.     The  lesson  of  the  matter  seems  to  be  that  it 

is     ,.J     ,,      Ito    preach   to   enthusiasts   without   some 
difticult     J        ^ 

clear  understanding  beforehand. — Ever  yours  sincerely 

and  gratefully,  J.  Henry  Shorthouse." 

Two  other  extracts  from  J.  Henry  Shorthouse's 
letters  to   the  Dean   give  some  notion,  I  think,  of  the 


128  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

charm  of  the  author  of  "John  Inglesant"  as  a  corre- 
spondent. There  is  a  certain  spiritual  distinction  about 
the  letters  of  his  which  I  have  seen,  and  a  touch  of 
delicate  humour. 


"  October  14,  1888. — We  shall  often  recall  the  eleventh 
of  October  as  a  day  long  to  be  remembered,  beginning 
with  the  Cathedral  Service  and  the  interest  of  the 
Cathedral,  then  the  delightful  walk  with  Mrs.  Hole 
under  the  old  Keep  and  among  the  pigeons  —  the 
still  more  pleasant  work  often  lined  with  a  gleam 
of  physical  sunshine  to  sympathise  with  the  sunshine 
of  the  mind — then  the  visit  to  the  home  of  the  six 
poor  Travellers,  the  pleasant  little  sale  of  work — the 
Dockyards — and  the  delightful  people  we  met  in  the 
evenings,  all  this,  in  Mrs.  Hole's  presence,  you  must,  I 
think,  yourself  admit,  goes  to  fill  up  the  hours  of  a  day 
not  easily  forgotten.  ...  I  have  often  thought  of  the 
view  over  your  orchard  and  the  old  wall  and  Church 
Tower  and  houses  beyond  with  the  faded  Autumn 
Tints  over  it.  ...  I  don't  think  I  told  you  how  much 
I  was  struck  with  your  sundial.  It  must  have  a  history. 
Was  it  the  work  (conception)  of  some  seventeenth- 
century  Dean  with  mathematical  tendencies,  like  Bp. 
Wilkins  ?  " 

"  \st  Sunday  after  Trinity,  1891. — Mrs.  Hole  deserves 
our  grateful  thanks  for  allowing  you  to  write.  I  well 
remember  how  potent  her  influence  for  good  is,  as  when 
she  gently  and  sweetly  persuaded  us  to  go  to  bed,  instead 
of  injuring  ourselves  by  sitting  up,  smoking  and  drink- 
ing, as  Mrs.  Somebody  says  in  'George  Eliot,'  'like  the 
beasts  that  perish  '  ('  poor  maligned  beasts  ! ').  I  have 
often  reflected  with  satisfaction  on  our  conduct  on  that 
occasion.  It  is  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  of  the  delight- 
ful experience  of  taking  out  Influenza  and  other  noxious 


ROSE   SHOWING 


129 


visitants  with  you  in  a  pony  carriage  and  surreptitiously 
getting  rid  of  them  in  a  sunk  ditch  by  the  way.  I  feel 
sure  that  this  power  is  reserved  for  Deans  of  the  Church 
of  Etiglandy  but  I  am  also  strongly  of  opinion  that  [it]  is 
only  given  to  the  good  old-fashioned  sort  of  Dean  and 
not  the  modern  style  of  Dean  who  runs  about  every- 
where knocking  himself  up  and  killing  himself  and  de- 
priving the  Church  of  his  inestimable  personality." 


To  T.  B.  Hall. 


The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
June  27,  1888. 

My  dear  Hall, — We  are  happily  contemplating 
your  presence  here  on  Saturday,  July  7,  and  heartily 
hope  that  Mrs.  Hall  will  be  with  you.  I  have 
promised  to  act  as  Judge  at  "  the  Palace,"  so  that 
we  can  return  together.     I  fancy  you  as  rather  busy, 


and  confidently  anticipate  the  usual  results  :- 


130         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

62) 


&c 


&c. 


&c. 


With  love  to  you  all,  yours  ever  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


THE   PURITANS  131 

To  HIS  Wife. 

Those  railways  are  capable  of  softening  the 
hardest  brains,  and  you  were  very  clever  to  get 
your  luggage  as  you  did.  How  I  should  have 
rejoiced  to  have  seen  //,  on  its  nice  horse  by  the 
covert  side,  and  heard  the  horn  and  the  music  of 
the  hounds  once  more. 

The  Congress  is  very  successful.  I  made  the 
Puritans  angry  last  night  by  expressing  my  opinion 
that  people  might  put  into  raffles  and  play  at  cards 
for  sixpences  without  being  hopeless  rep7^obates ; 
and  I  intend  to  make  the  g^eese  hiss  a^ain  to-nieht 
by  stating  that  a  glass  of  good  wine  or  good  beer  is 
not  only  pleasant  but  invigorating. 

To  Dean  Pigou. 

Gloucester, 
Hotel— Don't  know  it's  Name. 

Came  at  midnight,  after  preaching  in  London 
en  route,  to  preach  at  Tewkesbury  to-day,  Septem- 
ber 27,  1888: 

Dear  Pigou 

Is  Truth  true."* 
And  are  you 
Going  to  be 
D.  of  C.  ? 
Personally    I   shall   rejoice  ;  but,  not  to  be  over 


132         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

reticent,  how  about  Income?  But,  as  the  lady  said 
when  congratulated  on  her  daughter's  engagement, 
"Ah,  thanks;  Jenny  hates  the  man,  but  there's 
always  something."  One  thing  I  must  impress  on 
you ;  if  you  are  going  to  be  a  Dean,  there  is  only 
one  man  in  England  who  can  make  gaiters — all 
others  are  alligators.  Come  at  once  to  Rochester, 
and  I  will  take  you  on  your  arrival  to  be  measured. 

To  HIS  Wife. 

Preston, 
Saturday,  October  b,  1888. 

Own  Dearest, — I  flatter  myself  that  you  will 
like  to  hear  that,  tho'  one  of  my  legs  gently 
intimates  that  I  have  had  enough  tramping  on  the 
Manchester  pavements,  I  am  quite  well,  after  10 
sermons  or  speeches  in  lo  successive  days.  The 
Congress  has  been  a  grand  success,  and  no  one 
has  enjoyed  it  more  than  I  have.  It  was  so  very 
pleasant  to  be  with  the  Bishop  of  Manchester,^  a 
grand  man,  and  his  distinguished  guests.  I  went 
one  night  to  a  social  meeting  of  Working  Men, 
about  3000,  in  the  Free  Trade  Hall,  to  listen  and 
to  rest,  without  a  thought  of  speaking ;  and  sud- 
denly, to  my  astonishment,  there  came  a  cry  of 
"Dean  Hole,"  "Canon  Hole,"  "  Hole,  Hole,"  from 
all  parts   of  the   building.     The   Bishop  rose  and 

^  Bishop  Moorhouse. 


FREE   TRADE    HALL  133 

said,  "  If  you  working  men  would  rather  hear  Dean 
Hole  than  speak  yourselves,  or  hear  the  other 
speakers,  I  have  no  doubt  the  Dean  will  find  some- 
thing to  say  to  you  ; "  on  which  they  cheered,  and 
the  Dean  made  a  very  poor  speech,  but  they 
seemed  quite  satisfied.  The  fact  is,  they  know 
that  my  heart  is  with  them,  and  they  reciprocate. 

I  am  going  to  Liverpool  this  afternoon  for  3 
sermons  and  a  speech,  and  then  shall  bring  what 
remains  of  your  old  man  to  Rochester  on  Tuesday. 
Archdeacon  Farrar  and  Knox-Little  were  my  com- 
panion speakers  at  a  meeting  of  working  men,  over 
3000,  held  here  last  night. 

Your  loving  husband,  Reynolds. 

The  London  "Guardian"  has  a  complimentary 
Leading  Article  on  my  speech  on  "Gambling 
and  Betting." 


To  Archbishop  Benson. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
July  II,  1889. 

My  very  dear  Archbishop, — Continuous  and 
ubiquitous  work,  accompanied  by  Hay  Fever,  has 
brought  me  to  the  doctor,  and  when  he  forbids 
me  to  leave  home,  Conscience  adds,  "  Honour  the 
Physician,  because  you  know  that  he  is  right." 


134         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

If  the  clergy  will  bravely  denounce  Gambling 
and  Betting  in  sermons,  and  in  society,  they  will 
have  the  support  of  the  thoughtful  laity,  and  both, 
in  union,  the  Divine  help.  There  is  a  manifest 
encouragement.  Since  the  publication  of  the  en- 
closed Address,  I  have  had  letters  of  thankful 
sympathy  from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men, 
from  the  chaplains  at  Nice,  Mentone,  and  Alex- 
andria, from  officers,  barristers,  commercial  travel- 
lers, &c.  &c.  &c.,  .  .  .  and  it  is  evident  that  honest 
men,  who  like  racing  for  its  own  sake,  are  be- 
coming- more  and  more  disgusted  with  the  knaves 
and  blacklegs.  If  such  men  as  the  Dukes  of  West- 
minster and  Portland  would  exert  their  Herculean 
power,  the  Augaean  stable  might  be  sweetened,  if 
not  cleansed. 

I  most  earnestly  hope  that  the  members  of  your 
Grace's  Conference  will  not  estrange  men  who  are 
friendly  disposed  by  denouncing  penny  or  sixpenny 
points  at  whist,  and  the  giving  of  a  shilling  to  a 
lottery.  On  this  matter,  as  the  "  Guardian  "  says,  the 
Lower  House  of  Convocation  "drew  dangerously 
near  to  the  ridiculous."  To  tell  me  that  they  who 
mean  no  harm  and  feel  none,  that  some  of  the 
best  men  and  women  I  ever  knew  were  promoting 
vicious  practice  at  their  whist  and  quadrille,  is  an 
insult  to  my  affection  and  an  outrage  on  my  com- 
mon-sense. And  who  was  ever  heard  to  say,  "  I 
was  virtuous,  I  was  innocent,  until  I  went  one  day 


GAMBLING  135 

to  a  bazaar.  I  was  induced  to  put  into  a  lottery, 
with  a  view  to  increasing  the  receipts.  I  won 
a  gorgeous  anti-Macassar,  worth  at  least  ^i, 
and  gradually  from  that  fatal  day  I  became  a 
Gambler!" 

It  is  paltry,  pusillanimous,  and  perilous  also,  that 
the  shepherds  should  be  searching  for  small  insects 
in  the  wool  of  the  sheep,  when  the  eagles  swoop 
down  upon  the  Iambs. — With  great  respect,  affec- 
tionately yours,  S.   Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Dean  Pigou. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  8,  1889. 

Dear  Pigou, — By  the  aid  of  the  most  powerful 
microscopes  known  to  science,  portions  of  your  last 
communication  have  been  deciphered,  and  have 
pleasantly  rewarded  the  labour  bestowed  upon  them 
in  the  anticipation  of  arriving  at  Chichester  at 
6.5  P.M.  on  the  14th  inst. — Affectionately  thine, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


Copy  of  Testimonial. 

At  the  request  of  my  friend,  the  Very  Revd. 
the  Dean  of  Rochester,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Cali- 
graphy,     I    subjoin     specimens     of    my    signature 


136    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

before     and     after     I     had     received     instructions 
from  him. 


Before- 


After- 


1/  ^-c<^^  ^^r-Zc^v^ 


To  Dean  Pigou. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
February  18,  1890. 

My  dear  Pigou, — Could  you  come  on  the  8th 
to  preach  on  the  9th  of  March  ? 

I  am  specially  anxious  to  see  you  then,  as  I  may 
have  completed  a  few  preliminary  chapters  of 
my  great    History  of  the  Corea/  to  be  dedicated 

^  A  friend  had  been  staying  with  Dean  Pigou,  and  had  told 
him  much  about  Corea  and  the  Coreans.  Some  time  afterwards 
Dean  Hole  and  Dean  Spence  were  staying  at  Chichester,  and  Dean 
Pigou  asked  them  if  they  knew  where  Corea  was.  Hole  said  he 
thought  you  booked  for  Charing  Cross,  and  Spence  that  you  got  out 
at  Baker  Street.  Dean  Pigou  expressed  himself  shocked  by  such 
profound  ignorance  in  two  Deans  ;  whereupon  a  Bishop  who  was 
present  asked  how  they  showed  their  ignorance. 


COREA  137 

to  yourself  and  Mr.  Mundella.  It  is  a  deeply 
interesting  subject.  I  commence  on  its  northern 
boundary,  where  the  river  Turiman  Kiang,  rising 
in  the  centre  of  the  Chang-pe-shar  Mountains,  runs 
to  the  sea  of  Japan.  Its  banks,  though  fertile,  are 
uninhabited. 

You  will,  I  feel  sure,  be  gratified  to  know  that 
"  the  coasts  are  high  and  bold,"  because  they  will 
remind  you  of  the  Dean  of  Rochester,  who  is  so 
universally  beloved;  and  when  I  tell  you  "that 
whales  are  numerous  on  the  eastern  coasts "  you 
will  be  reminded  how  "very  like"  that  monster  is 
to  many  of  your  own  excellent  anecdotes. 

The  history  will  conclude  in  the  Dining-room, 
Feb.  II,  1890.  I  am  pleased  to  find  that  I  can 
draw  all  my  maps  and  landscapes  from  memory. — 
Affectionately  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole, 

Geographer  to  the  Pope,  and  Local  Inspector 
of  the  Universe. 


To  Dean  Pigou. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  22,  1890. 

My  dear  Pigou, — By  your  love  of  Art  (especi- 
ally of  the  presentments  of  dying  warriors,  military 
and  naval),  by  the  mug  which  you  gave  me  when  I 
was  "a  good  little  boy,"  by  our  wanderings  in  the 


138         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Corea,  by  the  perplexities  of  the  Revd.  Mr.  Bailey 
when  you  ignored  your  engagement,  by  ze  Booby, 
ze  Dooks,  and  ze  wicked  lad  in  the  corner,  by 
Rothschild's  purchase  of  "The  Times,"  I  adjure 
you  to  send  the  amount  of  your  travelling  ex- 
penses to, — Yours  ever  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

Your  sermon  made  a  great  impression — and  the 
Dean,  for  the  hearers,  sends  you  10,000  thanks. 

"  By  your  love  of  Art."  Dean  Pigou's  explanation  of 
this  is  in  his  "Odds  and  Ends"  :  "I  never  pass  down 
John  Street  (Whitby)  without  recalling  a  very  memorable 
occasion  in  which  he  took  part.  There  used  to  be  .  .  . 
a  small  '  bric-a-brac '  shop  for  the  sale  of  '  Odds  and 
Ends.'  In  the  front  window,  attracting  attention,  was 
a  truly  awful  daub,  supposed  to  represent  'The  Death 
of  Wolfe.'  I  have  the  picture  in  the  Deanery,  and  when- 
ever Hole  comes  it  is  put  at  the  foot  of  his  bed.  Wolfe 
is  supported  in  his  dying  agonies  by  two  giants  in  the 
uniform  of  the  German  Emperor's  elite  Prussian  Guards. 
Some  one — I  imagine  a  surgeon — is  dabbing  a  very  large 
bath  sponge  in  Wolfe's  eye.  Two  others,  of  the  race  of 
Anak,  are  looking  on  with  sympathetic  interest.  .  .  . 
Hole  said  to  me  :  *  Pigou,  let  us  go  in  and  buy  that 
picture.'  We  examined  it.  We  examined  it  critically. 
'Who  do  you  think,'  said  Hole,  'painted  it?'  I 
replied  :  '  I  think  I  detect  Rubens  in  the  general  pose.' 
'Do  you  not  trace  the  hand  of  Murillo,' said  Hole,  'in 
that  surgeon  and  his  sponge  ?  '  Pursuing  our  criticism, 
I  said:  'That  nose  is  undoubtedly  Rembrandt's  work.' 
*  These  giants,'  said  Hole,  '  must  have  been  painted  by 


DEATH   OF   NELSON  139 

Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.'  The  woman  who  kept  the  shop 
stood  by  deeply  interested,  I  might  almost  say  awed. 
*  What  do  you  want,'  we  said,  '  for  this  picture  ?  '  '  Well, 
gen'lemen,'  she  replied,  '  I  have  marked  it  one  shilling, 
but  after  what  you  gen'lemen  have  said,  and  I  take 
you  to  be  what  they  call  connosours,  I  shall  ask  five 
shillings.'  .  .  .  We  both  felt  very  foolish.  .  .  .  Hole  paid 
the  five  shillings,  and  bestowed  this  work  of  art  on  me." 
But,  later,  Dean  Pigou  paid  off  his  friend  in  kind.  He 
bought  for  a  shilling  in  the  same  shop  an  equally  bad 
picture  of  Nelson's  death,  wrapped  it  up  with  great  care, 
and  sent  it  by  rail  to  Caunton,  labelled  "  Work  of  Art ; 
with  the  utmost  care."  The  parcel  duly  arrived,  and — 
according  to  Dean  Pigou — "  Hole  insisted  on  the  station- 
master,  ticket-collector,  and  every  available  porter  being 
present"  at  the  unpacking  of  the  parcel,  so  that  if  the 
work  of  art  were  damaged,  he  might  claim  damages 
from  the  Company.  "  Slowly  and  carefully  wrappers 
were  undone  and  strings  cut  ...  at  last  the  Colman's 
Mustard  box  was  reached.  As  the  lid  was  opened  and 
cotton-wool  removed,  'The  Death  of  Nelson'  burst  into 
view.  The  station-master,  collector,  porters,  were  all 
craning  their  necks  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  this  precious 
treasure.  Hole,  in  writing  to  me,  said  it  would  have 
been  described  by  an  Eton  boy  as  'golomptious.'  He 
did  his  utmost  to  conceal  this  treasure  from  the  view  of 
the  curious  and  drove  home  with  it,  I  say  not  in  what 
mood.  I  have  reason  to  think  it  is  still  in  possession  of 
the  family." 

"Lord  Rothschild's  purchase  of  the  'Times.'"  This 
was  a  popular  "catch."  "Have  you  heard  that  Lord 
Rothschild  bought  the  'Times'  yesterday?"  would 
generally  tempt  people  into  some  wild  hazard  as  to  the 
sum  paid.  At  a  certain  meeting  of  clergy  the  sum  sug- 
gested rose  as  high,  it  was  said,  as  two  million,  before  the 
explanation  was  given — "  He  gave  threepence." 


140         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  Dean  Pigou. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
November  17,  1891. 

Dear  Pigou, — Partly  for  my  wife's  health,  partly 
for  my  own,  and  because  I  desire  to  see  Naples  and 
Rome,  and  Venice,  and  may  not  have  another 
opportunity,  I  have  accepted  the  Chaplaincy  at 
Amalfi  (in  reply  to  an  advertisement  for  an  ecclesi- 
astic of  abnormal  beauty  and  immense  intellect), 
and  shall  be  out  of  England  in  Lent. 

I  wish  you  had  been  with  me  on  Sunday  in  a 
London  Church.  We  had  huge  rainbows  of  tapers, 
incense  as  thick  as  a  London  fog  (we  were  all 
specially  censed),  lace  -  edged  cottas,  copes,  20 
banners,  &c.  You  may  guess  how  depressed  your 
friend,  Moody,  felt !  tho'  I  must  say  that  there  was 
real  devotion,  and  the  heartiest  congregational  sing- 
ing. Rome  is  no  longer  "in  it"  (the  slang  man's 
phrase),  but  is  cold  and  colourless.  This  was  at 
evensong,  so  I  suppose  on  greater  occasions  they 
have  fireworks  and  artillery. — Your  affectionate 
frater,  Decanus  Hole. 

To  Dean  Pigou. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
November  13,  1891. 

My  dear  Pigou, — In  forwarding  the  enclosed, 
sent  by  mistake  to  Rochester,  I  have  the  welcome 


DEAN    OF   CHICHESTER  141 

opportunity  for  congratulating  the  Dean  of  Chichester 
and  the  people  of  Bristol  on  the  recent  transfer. 

You  will  now  have  the  power  of  making  the 
wilderness  to  blossom  as  the  rose,  and  30  years 
hence  you  shall  have  a  statue  in  Bristol  Cathedral, 
like  that  which  stands  in  the  gardens  at  Alton 
Towers,  and  with  the  same  Inscription, 

"  He  made  the  desert  smile." 

— Yours  ever  affectionately, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

Apropos  of  the  rose,  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear 
that  the  eleventh  edition  of  my  little  Book  was  sold 
in  6  months — 3000  copies. 


To  Dean  Pigou. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
Ash  Wednesday. 

My  dear  Pigou, — Mrs.  Hole  is  absorbed  in  her 
"  Society  of  Needle- women,"  sick  folks  in  a  great 
hospital,  of  which  I  am  patron,  and  poor  folks  in 
the  Workhouse,  and  so  reluctantly  foregoes  the 
pleasure  which  you  so  kindly  suggest. 

"  Domum  mansit,  lanam  fecit" — 

She    stayed    at    home,     and    made    clothes,    like 
Dorcas. 

I  have  to  preach  at  St.  Margaret's,  Lothbury,  on 


142  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Thursday — Might  I  come  to  you  in  the  evening  ? 
I  must  leave  early  on  Saturday,  and  should  like  to 
see  something  of  you  and  yours. 

I  must  admire  your  programme  of  good  works, 
except  the  "special  service  for  men  short."  Why 
leave  out  the  long  ones?  No  doubt  Zacchseus  was 
an  excellent  man,  and  David  said,  "  I  am  small," 
but  I  can  assure  you  that  we  tall  men  are  not  above 
instruction,  and  I  anxiously  hope  that,  when  you 
have  done  with  the  short  ones,  you  will  sing 
"  altiora  peto."  I  met  your  very  pleasant  Arch- 
deacon at  Gregory's  last  week  (why  were  you 
absent  from  Convocation  ?),  but  was  so  engrossed 
with  my  neighbours,  the  Bp.  of  Lincoln  and  George 
Denison,  that  I  had  no  introduction  to  him. — 
Affectionately  yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Dean   Pigou. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
July  II,  1892. 

"Do  I  remember  Francis  Pigou.'*"  I  knew  him 
well,  Horatio.  A  fellow  of  infinite  jest,  and  yet 
withal  a  man  of  noble  thought  and  eloquent  expres- 
sion, earnest  and  brave,  with  a  sweet  tenderness  and 
true  affection,  one  whom  I  rejoice  to  number  among 
my  friends,  to  see  and  to  hear,  and  to  read.  And  I 
am  glad  at  heart  to  know  that  he  is  again  the  right 
man  in  the  right  place,  with  a  larger  sphere  for  his 


OVER   TO    ROME  143 

sacred  ambitions,   and  his   big  brain  and   practical 
energies. 

I  cannot  come  to  have  ocular  proof,  being  over- 
weighted with  engagements  until  Christmas,  and  I 
have  so  much  work  on  hand  and  in  contemplation, 
here,  that  henceforth  I  must  give  up  foreign  service. 
Moreover  I  have  a  book  of  Memories  in  prepara- 
tion.    What  of  that  which  you  promised  ? 

In  conformity  with  the  announcements  of  the 
English  Churchman  and  other  protestant  accusers 
of  the  brethren  I  have  been  "over  to  Rome,"  and 
was  bitterly  disappointed  with  the  same ;  always 
excepting  St.  Peter's  and  the  Vatican  Galleries. 
We  were  all  ill  in  that  city  of  stinks,  and  my  niece 
was  in  bed  for  a  month  with  typhoid  fever. 

Will  you  come  with  me  to  Chicago  for  the  Exhi- 
bition ?  The  Bishop  of  New  York  invites  me  to 
preach  at  the  opening — expenses  paid  there  and  back. 

I  am  grieved  at  heart  to  hear  that  your  dear 
good  wife  is  not  well. — Ever  yours  affectionately. 

Hole,  Cardinal. 


To  HIS  Wife. 

The  Close,  Winchester, 

Wednesday,  November  1892. 

You  always  make  the  best  of  yourself,  and  I  can 
tell  that,  tho'  you  say  that  you  are  better,  you  are 
still    far    from    well.      The    weather   is   hopelessly 


144         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

against  invalids,  and  here  it  is  dripping  and  dreary 
from  morn  to  night.  Nevertheless,  you  have  a 
better  air  in  Notts  than  at  Rochester,  and  I  hope 
you  will  remain  until  we  have  a  more  genial  sur- 
rounding. The  perpetual  rain  is  very  unfavourable 
to  the  Mission  which  is  beings  held  throusfhout  the 
city  here,  but  we  have  good  congregations  in  the 
Cathedral,  where  I  give  addresses  at  midday. 

I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  retire  from  Foreign 
Service,  and  wrote  yesterday  to  Dean  Gregory,  de- 
clininof  his  usual  invitation  to  St.  Paul's.  I  am  too 
old  to  go  scampering  all  over  England,  and  there  is 
plenty  to  do  at  home. 

My  Book^  is  successful  beyond  my  hopes,  and 
has  passed  into  a  second  edition  before  it  has  been 
published  a  week !  The  Liberal  and  Conservative, 
High  Church  and  Low  Church  Newspapers  have 
alike  most  favourable  reviews. 

I  go  home  on  Friday.  I  shall  sadly  miss  you, 
but  don't  come  back  until  you  feel  stronger. 

Reynolds. 


To  Richard  Daft  (the  Notts  Cricketer). 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  2,  1892. 

My  dear  Friend, — I   am  gratified  to  hear  that 
I    have  given   pleasure    to   one,   who   has  so  often 

^  "  The  Memories  of  Dean  Hole." 


CRICKET    MEMORIES  145 

delighted  me  with  his  excellence  in  the  grand  old 
game,  and  I  shall  always  value  the  photograph 
which  you  have  kindly  sent.  I  enclose  the  best 
likeness  I  have  of, — Yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

The  Best  Tea  Roses  are  marked  in  the  accom- 
panying list.  I  have  also  marked  a  few  of  the  best 
Hybrid  Perpetuals. 

Dean  Hole  took  a  keen  delight  in  cricket  from  child- 
hood to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  could  recall  the  chief 
figures  in  county — especially,  of  course,  Notts — cricket 
for  seventy  years  past.  The  Parrs,  Alfred  Mynn,  Pitch, 
Box — "keeping  wicket  in  a  tall  white  hat" — and  George 
Daft — "a  wonderful  leg-hitter" — Tom  Barker,  Caffyn, 
and  Carpenter  were  among  them.  He  liked  to  dwell  on 
his  first  visit  to  the  Trent  Bridge  ground — "that  dear 
old  field  with  its  long  line  of  booths  and  stands  ;  with 
Clark  the  captain  having  a  few  confidential  words  with 
the  rector  of  Gedling,  a  devoted  lover  and  learned  judge 
of  cricket,  and  with  Johnson,  the  secretary,  smiling  at 
everybody  through  his  spectacles,  and  the  fruit  merchant 
inviting  us  to  buy  his  pears  at  six  a  penny,  and  the 
dealers  in  correct  cards  announcing  'The  order,  gentle- 
men, the  order — Nottingham  goes  in  ! '  There,  too,  in 
hundreds  were  our  famous  lambs.  Generally  speaking 
the  title  is  not  appropriate,  but  on  one  particular 
occasion  the  resemblance  in  friskiness,  jumping  and 
skipping,  was  remarkable.  Alfred  Mynn,  in  stopping 
a  very  awkward  ball  from  Clark,  got  too  near  the 
wicket  and  hit  off  one  of  his  bails.  For  a  moment 
there  was  a  hush  of  consternation,  astonishment,  and 
doubt ;  but  when  the  great  Alfred  left  his  ground,  there 
arose  such  an  uproar  of  triumphant  shouts  as  had  not 

K 


146         THE   LETTERS  OF   DEAN    HOLE 

been  heard  on  earth  since  the  walls  of  Jericho  fell  down. 
More  than  this,  the  lambs  left  their  seats  and  danced  on 
the  green.  I  never  saw  such  an  irrepressible  display  of 
exuberant,  genuine,  undiluted  mirth."  He  told  the 
Nottingham  mechanics  that  "as  a  manifestation  of 
strength  under  the  control  of  science,  as  a  triple 
alliance  of  eye,  hand,  and  brain,"  cricket  was  the  first 
of  all  games ;  and  should  be  auxiliary  to  "  the  noblest 
and  most  sacred  purposes  of  life,  to  morality  and  to 
religion,  helpful  to  temperance,  manliness,  self-com- 
mand, obedience,  endurance,  and  unity." 


To  HIS  Son,   Hugh  Hole. 

Off  the  Coast  of  Spain, 
February  i,  1892. 

Mv  DEAR  Buoy  (Excuse  the  spelling,  but  I'm  so 
fond  of  the  sea  I  can't  help  it), — I  would  that  you 
could  have  seen  your  proximate  progenitor  eating 
his  Sunday  dinner  of  Roast  Beef  and  Plum  Pudding, 
rich  and  hot,  in  the  middle  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 

I  have  never  been  ill,  and  I  attribute  the  fact  to 
my  quiet  preparation  and  the  medical  prescription 
which  Mrs.  Kelly  gave  me.  Also  to  our  removal 
from  the  bewildering  sounds  and  sickening  smells  of 
the  cabin,  in  which  we  were  first  placed,  to  a  purer 
air  and  more  peaceful  position. 

To-day  the  weather  is  most  delicious.  Sunshine 
and  a  fresh  soft  breeze.  We  were  in  a  foof  for  an 
hour   last    night,   and    as  the   instrument  which   is 


A    SEA   VOYAGE  147 

played  on  such  occasions  was  close  to  our  cabin, 
we  had  more  Medway  music  than  we  anticipated 
when  we  left  its  muddy  shores. 

My  only  discomfort  is  my  bed.  Short  berths  are 
good  for  mothers,  but  bad  for  gigantic  fathers. 
Man  wants  but  little  here  below,  but  when  he  is 
over  6  foot  3,  he  wants  that  little  long,  and  1  should 
like  to  have  a  couple  of  hinges  in  my  centre,  that  I 
might  be  doubled  up  as  with  boards  for  bagatelle. 

— Your  affectionate  Father, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

Did  I  not  know  that  what  is  is  best  to  them  who 
so  accept  it,  I  should  lament  that  my  groundless 
dread  of  the  sea  had  prevented  me  from  seeing 
more  of  the  world.  If  my  health  is  given  to  me,  I 
think  my  holiday  in  1893  will  be  spent  in  the 
States.  We  should  go  in  Royal  State  in  the 
"Teutonic,"  your  mother  would  see  her  brother, 
and  I  might  perhaps  give  a  few  lectures — towards 
the  expenses. 


To  R.  W.  Greensmith  (on  the  Death 
OF  HIS  Little  Girl). 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  15,  1892. 

You  have  indeed,  dear  Friend,  my  heart's  sym- 
pathies in  your  great  sorrow,  and  my  earnest  prayers 


148         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

that   the    only   Comforter   will    bring  you  in  their 
fullness  the  sweet  consolations  of  Hope. 

I  send  you  some  very  beautiful  lines,  which  shed 
a  heavenly  light  upon  such  bereavements  as  yours. 

"  The  flock  stood  gazing  by  the  rapid  river, 

And  dared  not  cross  ; 
Altho'  the  shepherd  gently  called  them  thither, 

And  banks  of  moss 
And  pastures  green  and  verdant  wood  surrounded 

The  distant  shore, 
The  peril  still  their  narrow  vision  bounded 

Of  crossing  o'er. 

The  shepherd  took  a  lamb,  and  gently  bore  it 

Within  his  arms 
To  where  the  sunlit  meadows  gleamed  before, 

And  all  alarms 
Were  hushed ;  the  mother  heard  its  voice  of  gentle  pleading, 

And,  crossing  o'er, 
The  flock  behind  her  followed  in  her  leading, 

And  reached  the  shore." 

I  am  pleased  to  include  this  letter,  for  to  many  readers 
it  may  recall  strenuous  passages  indeed  in  Dean  Hole's 
life.  Mr.  Greensmith  was  secretary  of  the  Derby  branch 
of  the  Church  of  England  Working  Men's  Society.  He 
well  remembers  the  great  gatherings  of  working  men 
in  Derby  as  well  as  Nottingham,  which,  in  the  early 
'eighties,  Hole  addressed  with  really  wonderful  success. 
Hole  was  in  his  element  at  the  Derby  Drill  Hall, 
speaking  to  and  completely  dominating — the  domination 
of  love  —  a  packed  gathering  of  keen  working  men. 
When  the  Congress  met  at  Derby  in  1882,  Hole  was 
chosen  to  address  the  great  meeting  of  working  men. 
He  was  then  over  sixty,  yet  at  the  zenith  of  his  power 
as   platform    speaker.      He    held   this    mass    of  rough 


A    ''PUNCH"    DINNER  149 

workers  from  start  to  finish,  charmed  and  swayed  it. 
To  this  day  there  are  probably  people  at  Derby  in 
whose  ears  the  speech  of  five-and-twenty  years  ago 
rings  a  little.  "Canon  Hole's  strong  raucous  voice — 
reminding  one  of  Archbishop  Temple's,  but  with  a 
pleasanter,  merrier  turn  about  it — made  itself  heard 
effectively  in  every  part  of  the  vast  building.  But  he 
also  spoke  to  the  Midland  Railway  workmen  during 
their  breakfast  hour  ;  and  hearing  that  an  old  working- 
man  friend — the  late  George  Powell,  who  had  saved 
no  end  of  lives  from  drowning,  and  had  the  medal  of 
the  Royal  Humane  Society — was  in  the  Infirmary,  paid 
him  a  long  visit." 


To  Henry  Silver. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  10,  1893. 

My  dear  Silver, — Our  letters  have  passed  each 
other,  "  between  you  and  me  and  the  post."  I  am 
impecunious  and,  tho'  I  appreciate  the  happiness 
of  giving,  have  to  refuse  invitations  daily.  But  I 
honour  those  who  will  go  through  the  ordeal  of 
begging,  the  most  distasteful  (and  unselfish)  of  all 
experiments. — Yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

Mr.  Henry  Silver  was  the  friend  of  Hole's  who,  as 
mentioned  earlier  in  the  book,  lent  the  half-dozen  letters 
written  to  Leech.  He  has  sent  this  note  on  Leech  and 
Hole  :— 

"  It  was  at  the  *  Punch '  Table  in  February  i860 
that   I    first   met  Mr.   Reynolds    Hole,  who   there    was 


150         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

welcomed  as  a  friend  of  Leech,  with  whom  in  the  year 
previous  he  had  made  his  '  Little  Tour  in  Ireland.' 

"Besides  his  regular  'staff'  officers,  the  other  guests 
of  Mr.  Punch  were  not  more  than  three  or  four  in  the 
more  than  dozen  years  when  I  enjoyed  the  weekly 
privilege  of  dining  with  him.  And  this  was  assuredly  a 
memorable  evening,  being  the  only  one  I  can  remember 
when  a  clergyman  was  present. 

"We  renewed  our  acquaintance,  Canon  Hole  and  I, 
in  1878,  when  I  was  living  in  the  house  where  Leech 
had  died — Number  Six,  The  Terrace,  Kensington  :  a 
handsome  red  brick  house,  with  a  square  courtyard  in 
front  of  it,  where  now  stand  shops  and  flats,  which  to 
my  eyes  are  far  less  handsome." 


To  HIS  Wife. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  15,  1893. 

I  received  your  welcome  little  letter  just  before 
I  left  Halstead  this  morning,  and  hope  that  you 
have  safely  arrived  among  the  old  familiar  places 
and  faces.  I  enjoyed  my  London  visit, — pleasant 
host  and  hostess,  a  beautiful  Church,  with  a  con- 
gregation (morning)  of  1000  people,  chiefly  men, 
and  perfectly  delicious  weather.  I  arrived  at 
Halstead  about  4.30  p.m.  and  went  next  day  to  see 
Lamberhurst — such  a  pretty  village,  amid  charming 
scenery  of  hill  and  valley,  orchards,  and  hop-yards, 

Mrs.  Thorneycroft,  one  of  the  principal  in- 
habitants, entertained  me,  inviting  the  two  chief 
squires  to  meet  me  at  luncheon.     The  income  is 


"A   GENTLEMAN"  151 

;^500  per  annum,  and,  having  made  every  inquiry 
and  given  the  matter  my  most  thoughtful,  prayerful 
consideration,  I  think  it  will  be  best  to  offer  the 
living  to  Mr.  Langhorne. 

The  garden  is  delicious  !  Narcissus  and  hyacinths 
coming  into  bloom,  and  everything  developing  into 
beauty. 

Johnny  has  had  forty-five  minutes  over  grass  in 
the  Bicester  country,  and  writes  a  letter  proving 
him  to  be  his  mother's  son. 

Apropos  of  letters,  I  am  up  to  my  knees  in  that 
article,  but  would  not  resist  a  yarn  with  my  best 
beloved. — Ever  yours  devotedly,  Reynolds. 


To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
June  1893. 

My  very  dear  Freddy  and  Lily, — I  hope  that 
you  will  be  pleased  to  know  my  conviction,  that 
our  sweet  little  Bessie  has  made  a  most  happy 
choice,  a  gentleman,  in  the  truest  sense  of  the 
word,  not  from  his  good  looks,  or  his  genial 
manners,  or  his  connections  and  affinities,  but 
from  those  high  Christian  principles,  without  which 


152         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

no  man  can  be  a  grentleman  at  heart.  How  I 
wish  I  could  be  with  you  to-day,  to  speak  instead 
of  writing  my  congratulations  on  the  anniversary 
of  that  day  when  we  all  sang  "  Haste  to  the 
Wedding,"  and  my  earnest  wish  and  prayer  for 
many  years  of  happiness. 


Water  at  Caunton  pronounced  unfit  for  use — 
hence  the  premature  death  of  my  dear  Father, 
and  my  own  emaciated  and  drivelling  condition.^ 
Happily,  I  feel  sure  that  the  Americans  will  be 
delighted  to  pay  for  new  drains  and  new  wells, 
after  they  have  built  a  new  Tower  for  Rochester 
Cathedral,  &c.  &c.  &c. — You  know  me  to  be  your 
loving  Brother,  Old  Reynolds. 


To  William  Walker. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  20,  1893. 

Pride  goeth  before  a  fall,  and  I,  boastful  of  my 
knowledge  of  Dickens,  am  justly  humbled.  I 
should  not  have  thought  it  possible  that   I   could 

^  It  undoubtedly  contained  a  large  amount  of  animal  life,  as  so 
many  old  wells  of  "delicious"  drinking-water  do.  The  premature 
death  of  Dean  Hole's  father,  Samuel  Hole,  occurred  in  his  ninetieth 
year.  He  used  to  drink  a  glass  of  water  drawn  from  this  well  every 
night  of  his  life  before  going  to  bed. 


Samlkl  J1(»i,k. 
JJcan  Hole's  Father. 


/•  152- 


CAMBRIDGE  153 

have  attributed  to  Mrs.  Gamp  any  doubt  as  to  the 
existence  of  Mrs.  Harris.-^  My  "  Memories  "  have 
just  entered  on  a  new  edition  (the  12th)  but  I 
hope,  in  the  next,  to  make  the  correction  which  you 
have  kindly  suggested.  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HIS  Son. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
February  19,  1894. 

I  am  still   in   correspondence  with  Major  , 


who  considers,  "having  read  my  book,  that  I  am 
the  best  equipped  clergyman  he  knows  for  the 
business,"  but  requires  careful  riding ;  tho'  Sir 
Edwin  Arnold  tells  me,  that  he  represents 
Fairation,"  with  just  a  slight  inclination  towards 
his  own  side. 

I  hope  you  are  taking  lessons  in  the  art  of 
brushing  the  dear  Baron's  ^  hat,  folding  his  umbrella, 
&c.  &c. 

I  have  to  preach  and  speak  at  Cambridge  on 
Sunday.  I  have  found  it  on  the  map,  and  there 
is  a  railway  station,  not  far  away,  at  Newmarket, 
and  a  carrier  every  Wednesday  and  Saturday. — 
Your  affectionate  Papa,  S.  Reynolds   Hole. 

*  Hole  had  attributed  the  "memorable  and  tremendous  words" 
of  Mrs.  Harris  to  Mrs.  Gamp. 

"^  An  old  cricket  umpire,  returning  thanks,  said  an  umpire  should 
be  fair — "  Fairation,  with  just  a  little  leaning  towards  your  own  side." 

3  Baron  Pollock. 


154         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  HIS  Wife. 

Trinity  Lodge,  Cambridge, 
Sunday  [^February  1894]. 

My  Best  Beloved, — I  must  send  you  a  brief 
assurance  that  you  are  ever  in  my  thought,  and 
prayerful  hope  that  you  are  fast  recovering  your 
health.  I  have  had  a  most  precious,  genial  recep- 
tion here,  occupy  the  State  Bedroom,  in  which  two 
Queens,  Anne  and  Victoria,  have  slept ;  and  last 
night  met  a  very  large  company  of  the  Heads  of 
Colleges  (with  their  bodies,  I  need  hardly  mention) 
at  dinner.  The  Master  of  Trinity  ^  is  a  most  agree- 
able host,  and  we  have  many  mutual  friends,  in- 
cluding Henry  Nethercote,  of  whom  he  tells  me 
pleasant  reminiscences. 

I  preached  in  the  grand  old  Chapel  this  morning, 
and  we  have  a  meeting  this  evening. 

To  Canon  Pollock. 

Trinity  Lodge,  Cambridge, 
February  25,  1894. 

My  dear  Herbert, — I  had  no  difificulty  in 
finding  Cambridge,  A  man,  from  whom  I  in- 
quired in  London,  informed  me  "that  he  was  going 
there  himself,  having  just  returned  home  on  ticket 
of  leave,  and  wishing  to  see   the  dear  old    place, 

^  Hole  was  a  guest  at  Trinity.     "  The  charm  of  his  conversation," 
writes  the  Master  of  Trinity,  "  is  still  fresh  in  my  memory." 


TRINITY   COLLEGE,   CAMBRIDGE         155 

where  he  had  been  Senior  Wrangler,  and  Smith's 
Prize-fighter." — Seriously,  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to 
write  to  you  fi'om  your  old  college,  where  I  am  re- 
ceiving the  most  genial  hospitality  from  the  Master. 

He  has  put  me  in  the  State  Bedroom,  which 
Queens  Anne  and  Victoria,  and  Prince  Albert, 
have  kindly  aired  for  your  Dean,  and  last  night 
invited  a  large  company  of  Dons,  including  the 
Vice-Chancellor  (Austin  Leigh)  and  several  Heads 
of  Colleges  (Latham  of  Trinity  Hall  was  the  only 
one  I  knew  personally),  to  meet  me  at  dinner. 
This  morning  I  went  to  the  early  Celebration,  and 
preached  in  the  forenoon  (having  the  Master  on 
my  left,  and  Sir  R.  Webster  on  my  right)  in  the 
grand  old  Chapel,  filled  with  surpliced  students, 
teachers,  and  a  few  ladies. 

To-night  we  dine  in  Hall,  and  Bishop  Selwyn 
and  others  join  us.  In  the  evening,  a  meeting  for 
the  Trinity  Mission,  with  Sir  R.  Webster  and  two 
working  men  as  speakers. 

I  return  to-morrow.  My  thoughts  and  prayers 
are  with  you,  and  I  remain, — Your  loving  brother, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  Canon  Pollock. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 

February  28,  1894. 

My  dear  Herbert, — I  hear  that  a  good  many 
watches,  spoons,   pocket  handkerchiefs,  and  other 


156         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

light  articles,  are  missing  on  both  sides  of  the 
Mersey,  but  if  you  steal  some  hearts  as  well,  it  will 
be  ample  compensation. 

I  never  was  so  interested  in  another  man's  enter- 
prise, and  therefore  your  report  of  progress  makes 
my  heart  glad.  I  see  you  in  that  tall,  black  old 
pulpit  with  the  ugliest  painted  window  in  all 
Christendom  beyond,  and  the  galleries,  I  hope, 
begrinnino-  to  fill. 

If  the  stout  Verger  is  still  there  in  his  gown, 
please  tell  him  that  the  Dean  of  R.  desires  to  be 
kindly  remembered  by  him. 

You  could  not  promote  the  financial  success  of 
my  new  little  book  more  efficiently  than  by  asking 
booksellers  whether  they  have  it.  It  has  been 
most  favourably  received  by  "the  Trade" — one 
firm,  Simpkin  and  Marshall,  ordered  780  copies. 
*'  Nothing  succeeds  like  success,"  tho'  I  don't  quite 
agree  with  Sir  Walter  Scott's  remark,  "  When  you 
once  get  a  name,  you  may  write  just  what  you 
like."  You  will  see  from  the  enclosed  (read  and 
burn),  that  Yeld  is  going  to  Grapesdale,  close  to 
Liverpool,  and  S.  Notts  is  sending  another  son  to 
that  city. 

Do  not  forget,  before  you  leave  it,  to  affix  the 
biggest  cracker  you  can  buy  to  the  episcopal 
knocker — 

Apropos  of  fireworks,  the  Revd. has  been 

letting  off  some  political  squibs  in  our  absence,  and 


REVIVAL   OF  THE    MARSHALS  157 

I   propose  to  throw   some   cold   water   on    his   in- 
flammatory pyrotechnics. — Ever  your  affectionate 

S.   Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HIS  Son. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  21,  1894. 

Dear  Hughie, — Your  letters  are  as  welcome, 
and  have  the  same  exhilarating  influence,  as  "  Re- 
freshers "  to  a  weary  Barrister.  You  are  indeed 
to  be  congratulated  on  your  association  with  such 
a  man  as  Baron  Pollock,  and  on  the  experience 
to  which  he  introduces  you.  It  may  seem  matter 
of  course  as  it  comes,  but  it  will  be  deeply  in- 
teresting hereafter :  and  I  strongly  urge  you  to 
make  annotations,  and  to  keep  a  diary. 

"The  Revival  of  the  Marshals"^  may  have  a 
limited  circulation,  but  the  Autobiography  of  Hole, 
Q.C.,  will  be  a  splendid  success,  some  30  years 
hence. 

Mother  has  returned  in  much  better  condition, 
but  she  is,  like  everything  human,  capable  of 
improvement. 

My  friend,  Shorthouse,  the  author  of  "John 
Inglesant"  {the  book  of  its  day),  lives  at  Lansdowne, 
Edgbaston,  but  I  don't  suppose  that  you  are  likely 
to  meet.     You  are  also  within  a  few  miles  of  the 

'  Hugh  Hole  was  Marshal  to  Baron  Pollock. 


158         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Rectory,  Sutton  Coldfield,  the  home  of  Ivy  Bedford, 
at  whom  you  were  forbidden,  by  Joe  Birley,  to 
throw  the  cat. 

Also  to  Needham,  who  made  my  first  and  only 
breech-loader. — Your  very  affectionate  and  hopeful 
Father,  S.   Reynolds  Hole. 


To  HIS  Wife. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
Ju7te  4,  1894. 

I  trust  you  had  a  prosperous  journey,  and  found 
our  dear  old  friend  as  healthful  in  body  as  she 
would  be  happy  in  mind  to  receive  you.  I  have 
written  to  Mrs.  Silver  to  say  that  Whitaker  will 
come  with  me  to-morrow.  I  missed  you  sadly 
yesterday.  You  would  have  greatly  enjoyed  a 
walk  in  Kew  Gardens  and  the  luncheon  at  Cam- 
bridge Cottage.  The  dear  old  Duke^  was  so 
jolly  and  almost  affectionate  as  he  took  me  by 
the  arm  and  thanked  me  for  my  "perfect  sermon." 
The  Duchess  of  Teck  inquired  as  to  your  where- 
abouts and  welfare. 

We  have  a  Chapter  this  morning  concerning 
the  Schoolboy  criminals. — Your  loving  husband, 

Reynolds. 

^  Duke  of  Cambridge. 


PERILOUS   GAMES  159 

To  HIS  Son. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
June  9,  1894. 

My  dear  Boy, — Six  guineas,  and  six  hundred 
benedictions,  on  the  head  of  my  Son  and  Heir. 
I  am  heartily  glad  to  hear  of  your  association  with 
Mr.  Coward.  If  I  am  a  judge  of  a  size,  that  is,  if 
I  can  measure  my  fellow-men,  he  is  rerjoaycoi/o?,  a 
singular  brick.  That  Dan  O.  of  yours  ^  has  been 
at  me  with  a  whip.  I  wish  you  would  impress 
upon  him  the  protest,  which  the  tenpenny  nail 
made  to  the  sledge-hammer,  "Hit  one  of  your 
own  size."  Men  who  walk  arm  in  arm  with  H.R.H. 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  as  I  did  on  Sunday,  don't 
like  being  knocked  about  by  their  juniors. — Your 
affectionate  Papa,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HIS  Wife.. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
July  13,  1894. 

You  will  know  how  grieved  I  am  to  hear  of 
dear  Kercheval's  accident,  and  how  thankful  I 
am  to  be  assured  of  his  escape  from  more  serious 
results.  We  English  are  the  only  nation  which 
exults  in  perilous  games  and  sports,  and  we  are, 
in  consequence,  the  greatest. 

*  The  Dean's  grandson. 


i6o         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

I  am  much  interested  in  your  account  of  Caunton, 
and  longing  for  more.  I  should  like  to  have  been 
with  you  and  Annie  in  Maplebeck  Lane,  among 
the  roses,  if  they  were  not  over. 

I  can't  help  thinking  about  that  poor  tooth,  and 
shall  heartily  rejoice,  when,  like  the  Queen  of  Sheba, 
you  have  given  up  your  ivory  to  the  King.  My 
love  to  all,  more  especially  to  dear  old  K. — Ever 
your  fondly  affectionate 

Reynolds. 


To  HIS  Wife. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
August  22,  1894. 

I  had  a  pleasant  visitor  at  luncheon  yesterday, 
a  friend  of  General  Esmead,  whom    I   met  at  the 

B ,  and  who  wished  to  see  the  Cathedral.      He 

was  in  the  Harrow  Eleven  with  Nethercote,  and 
is  an  old  friend  of  Herbert  Ollivier's  father.  He 
knows  a  young  artist,  who  went  to  America,  and 
is  now  making  a  large  income  from  pictorial  decora- 
tion of  houses,  for  which  the  Americans  pay  extra- 
vagant amounts.  It  is  no  degradation  to  Art,  as 
some  of  the  most  famous  Italian  Painters  have  so 
employed  themselves  in  making  homes  beauti- 
ful.           thinks    Mr.    Seymour    will    write    to 

Herbert's  father.  How  curious  these  coinci- 
dences are. 


A   NIGHT   OF    IT  i6i 

Four  brace  of  grouse  have  arrived  ;  3  from  Mr. 
Style,  I  from  Lilly.  Rachel  says  I  am  to  keep 
the  former  for  my  dinner-party.  The  Mayor 
accepts  for  the  30th,  so  I  have  invited — 

2  Lords. 

3  Generals. 
2  Admirals. 
I  Colonel. 

I  Archdeacon. 

I  Lawyer. 

I  General  dealer. 

I  Miller. 

I  Auctioneer,  to  meet  him. 

We  mean  to  make  a  night  of  it,  and  all  are 
requested  to  bring  revolvers.  The  Deanery  will 
most  probably  be  on  fire  about  3  a.m. — Your  loving 
husband,  Reynolds. 

To  HIS  Wife. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 

S.  xtv.  Trinity,  August  26,  1894. 

My  own  dear  Wife, — I  had  hoped  for  good 
news  this  morning,  and  feel  rather  doleful. 

Colonels  Barrington-Foote  and  Shaw-Hellier 
came  to  luncheon  yesterday.  The  former  brought 
his  boy,  nine  years  old.  Reading  the  Brass  in 
memory  of  Charles  Dickens  in  the  Cathedral,  he 
said    to    his    Father,    "  Was   he    executed   here  ? " 

L 


i62         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

"  No,"  said  Papa,  "  why  do  you  ask?  "  "  Because 
it  says  '  by  order  of  his  executors.' "  Colonel 
Cockburn  came  for  Bowls,  and  I  won  three  games. 
The  Bishop  of  Brisbane  arrived  for  dinner.  I  wish 
you  could  hear  some  of  his  Australian  experiences, 
especially  as  to  driving — boy  with  4  pair  of  horses 
loose  in  front,  and  the  Bishop  making  constant 
changes  on  the  road. 

Reynolds. 


To  T.  B.  Hall. 

Everett  House,  New  York, 
December  13,  1894. 

My  dear  Hall, — I  know  that  you  will  be  glad 
to  hear  that  ever  since  I  landed  in  America  our 
floral  brothers  have  welcomed  me,  wherever  I  have 
gone,  and  kept  our  rooms  bright  with  roses,  car- 
nations, chrysanthemums,  &c.  They  gave  me  a 
great  banquet  here  in  New  York,  and  a  splendid 
reception,  of  which  I  enclose  an  account,  at  Boston. 
Three  new  flowers  have  been  named  Dean  Hole, 
and  even  in  smoky  Chicago  and  Pittsburg  the 
gardeners  have  met  me  with  bouquets. 

I  have  been  a  lecture  tour  of  6000  miles,  and  was 
glad  to  rest  awhile  on  my  return.  Audiences  are 
numerous  and  sympathetic,  but  a  long  distance 
apart. — Yours  ever  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


A    STRONG   AMERICAN    ACCENT  163 

To  HIS  Son. 

R.M.S.  "Majestic," 
Wednesday,  {October  18,  1894]. 

"  Off,  off,  said  the  Stranger!' 

Dear  Hughie, — How  kind  to  remember  the 
book,  which  I  shall  greatly  enjoy,  and  (whatever 
else  may  decline  to  stay)  shall  inwardly  digest. 

We  had  a  most  comfortable  journey  to  Liver- 
pool, and  an  excellent  dinner  with  my  friend,  Imrie. 
This  morning  we  had  a  further  instalment  of 
kindly  letters,  telegrams,  and  gifts,  the  latter  in- 
cluding two  pipes,  a  basket  and  huge  bouquet  of 
roses,  and  welcome  volume.  Imrie  has  given  us  a 
most  delightful  deck  cabin,  came  with  us  to  the 
ship,  and  personally  commended  us  to  the  care  of 
the  Captain,  Chief  Steward,  Purser,  &c. 

Your  mother  has  done  bravely,  but  could  only 
favour  the  company  with  a  narrow  slit  in  one  of 
her  eyes  after  dinner  last  night.  She  is  gradually 
acquiring  a  strong  American  accent. — Your  ever 
affectionate  father,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HIS  Son. 

The  Heublein,  Hartford,  Conn., 
January  16,  1895. 

My  dear  Boy, — You  will  be  gratified  by  the 
description  of  "a  rugged  elderly  gentleman,  with 


i64    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

a  florid  face,"  in  whom  you  are  interested,  "  in 
knickerbockers,  leggings,  &c."  ;  also  with  "  Kent- 
shire,"  "  Caughton  in  North  Hinmanshire,"  "Old 
Hugh  Hole,"  and  his  ecclesiastical  descendants. 

Lord   would   have   foamed   at   the   mouth 

to  have  heard  himself  described  as  Mr.  Dennis  (a 
relation,  perhaps,  of  the  hangman  in  "  Barnaby 
Rudge"),  and  the  reference  to  "Rob  and  his 
friends  "  is  a  pleasing  novelty.  These  compositions 
are  now  so  numerous  that  I  have  long  since  aban- 
doned all  idea  of  collecting  them,  having  pasted  a 
few  hundreds  in  my  "  Book  of  Cuttings." 

Nevertheless,  the  times  are  very  bad  for  Strolling 
Players,  and  dollars  accumulate,  after  paying  for 
advertisements,  travelling,  hotels,  and  agents,  very 
slowly. 

I  hoped  to  have  brought  home  ^looo  for  further 
restoration  of  the  Cathedral  at  Rochester,  but  I  shall 
not  achieve  more  than  ;^500. 

I  am,  of  course,  making  many  notes  for  "  Dean 
Hole's  American  Tour,"  which  I  hope  to  publish 
about  Nov""  next,  and  which  I  am  told  will  be  a 
much  greater  financial  success.  The  American 
reviewers  are  even  more  laudatory  of  my  literary 
efforts  than  our  own,  so  that  my  next  book  will 
have  a  circulation  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  I  shall  secure  the  copyright  on  this. 

I  have  seen  much  that  is  interesting,  and  have 
made     many     agreeable     friends,     including     Max 


THE   GOOD   GIANT  165 

O'Rell,  Bill  Nye,  Wilson  Barrett,  and  some 
American  authors.  I  have  been  thrice  "  behind 
the  scenes." 

I  return  to  Mrs.  Hole,  whom  I  think  you  know, 
to-day,  and  hope  to  find  her  recovered  from  an 
attack  of  Influenza,  which  is  here  called  "Grippe." 

Next  week  we  go  westward,  stopping  at  3  or  4 
places  on  our  road  to  Denver,  returning  towards 
the  end  of  February,  and  then  "  Homeward 
Bound ! " 

With  dearest  love  to  those  delicious  darlings,^ — 
Your  very  affectionate  father, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

Dean  Hole's  experiences  of  this  lecturing  tour  in  the 
States  are  given  in  his  "  A  Little  Tour  in  America."  It 
was  a  success,  and  brought  in  a  fair  sum  towards  the 
restoration  of  Rochester  Cathedral.  Here  is  a  typical 
specimen  of  American  comment  on  the  Dean  : — 

"About  the  finest  specimen  of  Elizabethan  ecclesias- 
tical architecture  that  England  has  sent  us  for  a  long 
while.  Alike  in  his  hearty  delight  in  literature  and  in  all 
forms  of  healthy  life,  his  love  of  outdoor  sports,  and  his 
tolerant  and  catholic  spirit,  he  is  a  stranger  to  the 
narrower  puritanism  which  rules  both  conformists  and 
non-conformists  in  England,  and  is  no  less  strong  in 
the  United  States.  The  contrast  between  clergymen 
like  Dean  Hole  and  clergymen  like  Dr.  R.  S.  McArthur, 
for  instance,  in  whose  church  the  Dean  lectured,  is 
great  enough  to  be  amusing.  I  trembled  all  the  time 
the  good  giant  was   lecturing   lest  his  sporting   blood 

'  His  grandchildren. 


i66    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

should  prove  too  rich  for  the  thinner  vein  of  most  of 
his  hearers.  But  there  was  no  trouble.  His  great  size 
conquered.  Even  his  legs  commanded  silence.  Every- 
body likes  this  stalwart  and  jovial  gentleman.  A  man 
that  has  lived  with  Thackeray  and  Leech  and  horses 
and  roses  has  led  a  happy  life." 


To  Bruce  Findley.^ 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 

March  9,  1895. 

Dear  Old  Friend, — We  only  returned  from 
America  on  Wednesday,  but  your  words  of  con- 
gratulation were  none  the  less  welcome  because 
they  were  payable  in  advance,  before  the  delivery 
of  the  goods.  We  had  more  than  four  months  in 
the  States,  and  travelled  as  far  as  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  2000  miles  from  New  York. 

The  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  are  very  dis- 
couraging to  outdoor  gardening  in  America,  but 
the  culture  of  flowers  under  glass,  especially  of 
roses  and  carnations,  is,  owing  to  the  continual 
sunshine,  practical  experience  and  profitable  results, 
most  admirable. 

At  one  nursery  I  saw  9  houses,  each  100  yards 
in  length,  closely  packed  with  roses  grown  from 
cuttings,  and  each  plant  had  a  fine  flower  on  its 
stalk.  The  florists  welcomed  me  with  far  more 
enthusiasm  than   I   have  met  in   England,  sending 

^  Curator  of  the  Manchester  Botanical  Gardens. 


LIGNUM   VIT/E    BOWELS  167 

me  large  boxes  of  lovely  flowers  wherever  I 
went,  and  offering  me  all  kinds  of  hospitality  and 
sympathy. 

I  have  lost  two  very  dear  friends  in  Wm. 
Thompson  and  George  Harrison— both  true  gentle- 
men in  the  highest  meaning  of  the  word. 

Please  give  my  love  to  your  dear  ones,  and 
believe  me  ever  to  be, — Yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  Mrs.  Nicholson. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  23,  1895. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Nicholson, — I  will  do  my  best 
for  the  poor  fellow,  who  has  nothing  but  a  mangle 
to  live  on.i  He  ought  to  be  supplied  with  the  same 
apparatus  which  Major  Jones,  now  at  Chatham  with 
the  Warwickshire  Regiment,  told  me  was  charged 
for  to  his  father  by  the  village  carpenter,  thus  : — 

The  Revd.  Mr.  Jones  to  J.  Smith. 

"  A  set  of  lignum  vitse  Bowels." 

The  e  in  the  final  dissyllable  was,  I  need  hardly 
remark,  superfluous. 

With  my  affectionate  admirations  to  "  the  Beauty 

1  Mrs.  Nicholson  had  asked  Hole  to  get  a  nomination  as  Bedesman 
in  Rochester  Cathedral  for  an  old  protes^tf  of  hers  who  had  nothing 
but  a  mangle  to  get  his  living  by. 


i68    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

of  Kent,"^  and  my  love  to  the  Admiral,  I  remain, - 
Yours  very  sincerely,  S.   Reynolds  Hole. 

Sheep  do  well  on  mangolds. 


To  Bruce  Findley. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  i8,  1895. 

My  dear  Old  Friend, — Not  many  days  ago, 
I  heard  for  the  first  time  from  a  Manchester  gentle- 
man (Mr.  Kendall  of  Sale),  whom  I  met  in  Not- 
tingham, that  your  dear  wife  was  dead.  At  first  I 
felt  sore  at  heart,  and  sadly  distressed,  but  very 
soon  the  thought  that  she  was  "  in  rest  and  felicity  " 
glowed  like  a  rainbow  on  the  dark  cloud  of  my 
sorrow,  and  seemed  to  reprove  my  grief.  I  had 
a  great  regard  and  respect  for  her,  and  shall  never 
forget  her  uniform  kindness  to  me. 

I  do  not  doubt  that  in  repeating  that  23rd  Psalm 
she  heard  the  voice  and  felt  the  Presence  of  the  Good 
Shepherd,  who  gave  His  life  for  the  sheep.  I  hope 
that  you  and  I  may  remember  those  words,  and 
realise  their  beautiful  truth  when  our  time  shall  come. 

I  will  be  with  you,  if  I  can,  on  the  25th  of  July. 
I  am  heartily  with  you  as  to  the  allotment  system, 
and  wrote  about  the  Nottingham  gardens  in  my 
little  book  about  roses  some  35  years  ago. — Ever 
yours  sincerely,  S.   Reynolds  Hole. 

'  A  title  the  Dean  gave  to  Mrs.  Nicholson. 


ENGLAND   AND   AMERICA  169 

To  T.   F.  Bayard.^ 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
Christmas  Eve,  1895. 

My  dear  Mr.  Ambassador, — Your  delicious 
donation  will  not  only  sweeten  my  palate,  but  it 
will  strengthen  the  conviction  which,  thank  God,  I 
brought  across  the  Atlantic,  that  whatever  mistakes 
may  be  made  on  either  of  it,  there  is  a  natural 
love  which  will  pray,  and  will  prevail,  for  Peace. 
It  will  prevail  because  it  is  in  harmony  with  His 
will  and  mission  who  came  at  this  holy,  happy  time 
to  teach,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on 
earth  Peace,  Goodwill  towards  men." 

With  many  thanks  and  much  esteem,  I  am,  yours 
very  sincerely,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
January  11,  1896. 

She's  a-going  to  Cap  Martin, 
She's  off  there  for  sartin 
To  ride  in  a  chariot, 
With  good  Mr.  Marriott, 
And  in  satins  and  sables 
She'll  play  at  "the  tables." 

'  U.S.A.  Ambassador  in  London. 


170    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

And  we're  going  to  Cannes, 
And  a  meeting  must  plan, 
And  we'll  gladden  our  eyes 
With  the  sun  and  blue  skies  ; 
And  we'll  favour  our  noses 
With  "  CIoth-of-Gold  "  roses, 
And  we'll  dance  and  we'll  sing 
To  the  gay  Mandolin. 

And  we'll  all  say  ta-ta 
To  sore  throat  and  catarrh, 
To  coughing  and  sneezing 
And  weeping  and  wheezing. 
And  it's  hip-hip-hurra 
For  the  Ri-vi-e-ra ! 

To  Bruce  Findley. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
April  13,  1896. 

My  dear  Old  Friend, — In  the  concluding 
sentence  of  your  letter,  just  received,  you  say 
"that  I  am  wounding  the  feelings  of  a  lot  of  my 
dear  friends  by  speaking  favourably  of  a  wretched 
system  which  is  bringing  misery  into  so  many 
homes." 

I  have  never  uttered  a  word  in  favour  of  the 
wretched  system,  which  you  justly  denounce,  of 
degrading  Football  and  Cricket  by  money-grubbing, 
cruel  acts  and  profanity.     Blackguards  are  plentiful 


GAMES  171 

as  weeds  in  a  garden,  but  we  must  not  root  up 
the  wheat  with  the  tares.  Every  effort  should  be 
made  to  overcome  evil  with  good,  by  placing  these 
games  under  the  management  of  respectable  persons, 
and  by  eliminating  snobs.  I  have  attended  a  good 
many  Cricket  matches,  and  have  given  away  Cups 
at  Football,  without  hearing  or  seeing  anything 
offensive. 

Not  many  weeks  since,  I  preached  in  one  of 
the  grandest  Churches  in  England,  St.  Mary's  at 
Nottingham,  to  1400  members  of  the  Football  Clubs, 
with  an  Offertory  to  the  Hospital,  and  have  since 
had  other  similar  invitations. 

We  must  all  do  our  best  to  preserve  these  manly 
games  from  pollution,  and  so  make  them  conducive 
to  health,  self-command,  and  good-fellowship. — 
Yours  always  sincerely,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  HIS  Son. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
October  13,  1896. 

My  dear  Son, — Thanks  for  letter  and  enclosures, 
and,  best  of  all,  for  your  intention  of  coming  to  the 
parental  welcome.  We  shall  be  here  until  Saturday 
morning,  when  Admiral  Nicholson  brings  his  yacht, 
"  The  Wildfire,"  to  convey  us  to  Sheerness,  where 
I  am  to  preach  to  the  sailors  on  Sunday.  I  am 
leaving  for  London,  but  have  3  Committees,  with 


172         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

other  business,  and  shall   not   be  able  to   gladden 
my  eyes  with  the  beauty  of  Bunny  Road. 

The  death  of  my  beloved  friend  ^  was  at  first  a 
great  distress  to  me,  "  but  the  souls  of  the  righteous  " 
are  in  God's  Right  Hand,  and  no  man  ever  died  a 
more  hopeful,  peaceful  death. 

London  is  too  old,  and  the  rest,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Archbishop  of  York,  too  young,  to  succeed 
him. — Your  loving  Father, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Mr.  C.   E.  Kempe. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
October  i,  1896. 

My  dear   Kempe, — We  are   delighted  with  the 

Processional    Cross,    but   are   we   not    in   debt   to 

Mr.  Tate?     Is  there  any  hope  of  meeting  you  at 

Shrewsbury  ?     I  am  most  hopeful  as  to  the  Clergy 

and   Artists'  Association,  and   there   is  a  brighter 

prospect  every  day  (nobody  has  done   more  than 

you  have  to  dispel  the  darkness)  that  we  shall  see 

"  Ars,  Ancilla  Ecclesiee  "  in  and  around  our  altars. — 

Yours  ever  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

In  the  diary  of  Mr.  Kempe,  who  died  in  the  spring  of 
1907,  there  is  this  little  passage,  written  on  July  15,  1899, 
referring   to   the    Dean's  visit  to  Old  Place,  Lindfield  : 

^  Archbishop  Benson. 


ROCHESTER   AND   CANTERBURY         173 

"  The  good  Dean  of  Rochester  made  me  a  speech  worthy 
of  record,  though  of  me  unworthy.  He  said  that  [I] 
having  done  much  to  make  God's  house  beautiful,  He 
had  given  me  a  house  beautiful  to  dwell  in." 


To  Dean  Farrar. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
January  14,  1897. 

My  dear  Dean, — Our  Canterbury  Pilgrims  told 
me  with  smiling  faces  that  their  pilgrimage  had 
been  delightful. 

With  all  my  heart  I  reciprocate  your  kind  wish, 
"  Let  brotherly  love  continue "  between  the  two 
Cathedrals  (or  rather  filial  affection,  for  Rochester 
is  your  daughter),  both  on  the  Decani  end  and  the 
Cantoris  side. 

It  would  be  a  privilege  to  preach  again  at 
Canterbury,  and  I  hope  to  avail  myself  of  your 
invitation.  Just  now  I  am  cancelling  engagements, 
after  a  severe  attack  of  gout  (not  alcoholic),  and 
we  go  to  the  Riviera  for  rest  and  sunshine  next 
month. — Yours  affect^^  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  THE  "  Dean  of  Southwark." 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
April  15,  1897. 

My  dear  Dean  of  Southwark, — Altho'  as  Grand 
Chaplain  Designate  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England 


174         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

I  am  approaching  an  elevation  from  which  your 
lowly  occupation  is  hardly  visible  to  the  naked  eye, 
I  retain  sympathies  with  your  humble  but  highly 
respectable  office,  which  persuade  me  to  comply 
with  your  request,  and  to  accept  your  invitation. 

I  feel  that  I  can  do  this  (especially  with  a 
prospect  of  Royal  presence)  without  compromising 
my  dignity. 

As  my  Coronation  does  not  take  place  until  the 
end  of  the  month,  I  shall  expect  to  receive  you 
as  guest  on  Saturday  at  2.30  with  Mrs.  Talbot,  and 
your  son. 

Our  grandchildren  have  not  been  well,  and  it 
is  doubtful  whether  their  mother  will  bring  them 
on  this  week  ;  but  under  any  circumstances  we  can 
find  a  room  for  your  son.  He  must  have  nothing 
to  do  with  Bulls  Romani  or  Roffences. 

Believe  me  to  be,  so  far  as  a  Grand  Chaplain 
can  condescend, — Affectionately  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
August  II,  1897. 

Beloved  and  Beautiful, — The  arrangement 
which  you  suggest  with  regard  to  the  opening  of 
your  Church,  will,  so  far  as  I  can  assist,  be  most 
convenient.     I  have  a  long  engagement  to  preach 


REELS   AND    FLINGS  175 

on  the   1 2th   of  October,  but  can  be  with  you  for 
Sunday  the  17th. 

Yes,  it  will  be  delicious  to  stand  together  on  the 
tip  ends  of  the  mountains,  and  to  prance  upon  their 
rims  and  edges ;  and,  if  I  can  hire  a  piper,  we 
will  show  the  visitors  at  Braemar  how  reels,  and 
strapseys  (?),  and  flings,  can  be  done  beautifully  on 
slopes  and  crags. 

Your  ever  affectionate  Brother, 

Old  Reynolds. 


To  THE  Bishop  of  Rochester. 

Cambusmore,  Callander,  N.B., 
September  i,  1897. 

My  dear  Lord  Bishop, — I  will  write  to  Mr. 
Imrie  by  this  post.  He  is  a  Churchman  who,  in 
spite  of  Pope  or  protestant,  holds  the  Catholic 
Faith,  and  will  rejoice,  I  am  sure,  to  do  you  honour. 

If  you  feel  a  strong  presentiment  that  you  are 
going  to  be  ill  at  sea,  make  up  your  mind,  a-Tra^, 
once  for  all,  that  you  will  be,  and  betake  yourself  to 
your  berth  until  the  tyranny  of  Neptune  is  overpast. 
Chicken  broth  is  the  best  food,  and  brandy  with 
water  the  best  fluid. 

We  are  here  among  the  hills,  the  salmon  and  the 
grouse, — best  of  all  in  the  pure  air.  With  a  thank- 
ful heart  "  I  opened  my  mouth,  and  drew  in  my 
breath,"  when  first  I  stood  upon  the  mountainside. 


176    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

In  this  house  Sir  Walter  wrote  part  of  "The  Lady 
of  the  Lake,"  but  this  will  soon  be  forgotten,  and 
posterity  will  say,  "  In  this  house  the  admirable 
Dean  of  Rochester  wrote  to  his  illustrious  Bishop 
on  the  merits  of  chicken  broth  at  sea." 

With  our  love  believe  me  to  be, — Very  affec- 
tionately yours,  S.   Reynolds  Hole. 

THE  DOG  AND   THE  SERMON. 

To  THE  Rev.  F.  C.  Boultbee. 

When  the  Church  Conference  was  held  at  Newcastle, 
Hole  told  a  story  of  a  young  Curate  who  was  preaching 
in  a  strange  church  from  which  the  Rector  was  away. 
He  preached  a  very  short  sermon,  and  in  the  vestry 
afterwards  the  churchwarden  remarked  upon  its  short- 
ness, and  the  Curate  told  him  that  a  pup  at  his  lodgings 
got  into  his  room  and  ate  half  his  sermon,  whereupon 
the  churchwarden  said  :  "  I  should  be  much  obliged  if 
you  could  get  our  Rector  one  of  the  breed."  Reading 
this  story,  Mr.  Boultbee  wrote  to  ask  Hole  if  he  could 
say  what  happened  to  the  dog  after  eating  the  sermon, 
and  the  reply  was  : — 

RuFFORD  Abbey,  Ollerton,  Notts, 
October  2,  1897. 

Dear  Sir, — You  will  be  pleased  to  hear  that 
when  the  dog  had  inwardly  digested  the  sermon 
which  he  had  torn,  he  turned  over  a  new  leaf.  He 
had  been  sullen  and  morose,  he  became  "a  very 
jolly  dog."     He  had  been  selfish  and  exclusive  in 


A    VALUED    DOG  177 

his  manger,  he  generously  gave  it  up  to  an  aged 
poodle.  He  had  been  noisy  and  vulgar,  he  became 
a  quiet,  gentlemanly  dog,  he  never  growled  again  ; 
and  when  he  was  bitten  he  always  requested  the 
cur  who  had  torn  his  flesh  to  be  so  good,  as  a 
particular  favour,  to  bite  him  again.  He  has  estab- 
lished a  Reformatory  in  the  Isle  of  Dogs,  for  per- 
verse puppies,  and  an  Infirmary  for  Mangy  Mastiffs 
in  Houndsditch.  He  has  won  26  medals  from  the 
Humane  Society  for  rescuing  children  who  have 
fallen  into  the  canal.  He  spends  six  days  of  the 
week  in  conducting  his  brothers  and  sisters,  who 
have  lost  their  ways,  to  the  Dogs'  Home,  and  it  is 
a  most  touching  sight  to  see  him  leading  the  blind 
to  church  from  morning  to  night  on  Sundays.^ — 
Faithfully  yours,  S.   Reynolds  Hole. 


To  HIS  Son. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
October  6,  1897. 

I  am  delighted,  my  dear  Son,  with  your  very 
interesting  letter,  and  I  congratulate  you  heartily 
on  your  magnificent  right  and  left  in  the  pur- 
suit of  friendships,  Nansen  and  Ibsen,  two  of  the 
most  famous   men   of  their  day.     All  must  admire 

'■  According  to  the  American  press.  Hole  told  this  story  in  Chicago 
when  lecturing  there,  and  several  men  waited  on  him  to  know  if  some 
descendants  of  that  dog  could  not  be  got  for  their  city,  but  he  told 
them  that  England  needed  a  monopoly. 

M 


178  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Nansen's  heroism,  and  Ibsen's  intellectual  power  ; 
and  it  does  one  good  to  be  with  such  men,  though 
in  some  points,  in  which  they  are  not  experts  or 
students,  we  may  have  no  sympathies.  I  antici- 
pate a  great  enjoyment  in  hearing,  viva  voce,  more 
details  of  your  singular  and  exciting  intercourse. 

We  shall  be  "  Arcades  ambo,  et  cantam  pares  et 
respondere  parati,"  when  we  meet,  seeing  that  we 
have  been  in  half-a-score  houses  within  the  last  3 
months,  and  with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  : — 

A  curious  little  incident  at  Colemandy.  Sitting 
in  a  victoria  behind  the  coachman,  I  noticed  on 
his  buttons  the  same  crest  as  that  of  your  grand- 
mother's family,  my  mother,  Mary  Cooke,  so  I 
made  inquiries  and  find  it  identical  with  that  of 
Davies  Cooke,  and  also  received  some  very  inter- 
esting accounts  of  our  ancestors.  The  ruins  of 
the  old  castle  in  Cheshire,  in  which  the  Cookes 
lived,  are  still  to  be  seen,  and  some  day  I  hope 
to  see  them. 

I  wish  you  could  have  witnessed  the  reception 
which  the  Working  Men  at  Nottingham  gave  your 
old  father,  including  3  ringing  cheers,  a  compli- 
ment never  before  paid  to  any  speaker  at  a 
Church  Congress.  I  wish  also  that  you  had  been 
with  us  for  a  shoot  at  Rufford.  They  got  600 
brace  in  4  days,  4  guns — not  quite  up  to  Norfolk, 
but  still  interesting. 


SYBIL'S    BOOK  179 

They  kindly  sent  us  to  Caunton,  when  we  were 
at  Rufford,  and  we  much  enjoyed  the  old  places  and 

faces.     Poor  old  Mrs. died  very  suddenly,  and 

her  husband/  whom  Lord  Salisbury  quite  forgot  to 
raise  to  the  Peerage,  seems  much  refreshed  by  her 
departure. 

We  gratefully  appreciate  your  kind  gift  of  game. 
Please  thank  Arthur  Markham,  with  our  best  re- 
gards. I  was  so  much  gratified  by  a  letter  written 
to  "  The  Times "  by  Charles  Markham  that  I 
quoted  it  at  the  Congress.  That  "  Times "  is  a 
most  discriminating  paper.  It  says  that  your  Papa, 
"with  his  usual  felicity,  combined  sound  wisdom 
with  shrewd  humour  and  amusing  anecdote." 

Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Sybil  Corbet. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
October  7,  1897. 

My  dear  Sybil, — On  my  return  to  Rochester  I 
am  delighted  to  find  a  book  "from  Sybil,"  and  I 
have  had  much  pleasure  in  visiting  "  Animal 
Land."^       I    was    rather    frightened,   when    I    met 

'  A  village  ne'er-do-well. 

*  This  little  girl  had  just  written  and  published  an  ingenious  and 
very  imaginative  book  on  natural  history. 


i8o         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

for  the  first  time,  the  Boddles,  the  Penna,  the 
Burkan,  the  Beada,  the  Temmabunk,  the  Shem, 
the  Azorkoa  and  the  Womp,  but  on  further 
acquaintance  I  got  rid  of  my  fears.  The  animals 
which  I  love  the  most  are  the  Booba,  the  Kank, 
the  Junn,  the  Jymalili,  the  Toop,  the  Jinkalin,  the 
Dopple  and  the  Beppy.  The  last  is  my  favourite, 
and  I  am  glad  to  see  that  he  is  placed  on  the  first, 
as  well  as  on  the  last,  page. 

I  should  like  to  ask  them  all  to  a  Garden  Party, 
to  be  received  at  the  "  front  door "  by  the  Kank. 
The  Booba,  who  makes  no  noise  and  runs,  might 
take  out  the  invitations,  assisted  by  the  Pokiban 
(who  must  be  told  to  abstain  from  almonds  and 
raisins  until  he  returns  home),  and  by  the  Rikka, 
who  seems  to  have  legs  even  longer  than  those  of 
the  Dean  of  Rochester.  I  hope  that  the  Wuss  will 
not  be  annoyed,  if  I  ask  him  not  to  turn  his  back 
on  the  company  when  he  partakes  of  refreshment, 
and  I  should  like  to  give  the  Boddles  a  hint  not 
to  scream  when  he  is  enjoying  his  candles  and  soap. 
I  shall  give  the  Joon  such  a  quantity  of  cabbages 
and  beans  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  growl  while 
the  band  is  playing. 

Accept  my  best  thanks  for  your  welcome  gift. 
The  Books  of  the  Sybils  have  been  precious  for 
many  hundred  years. — Affectionately  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


RULING   THE   WAVES  i8i 

To  THE  Bishop  of  Rochester. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
November  4,  1 897. 

My  dear  Lord  Bishop, — You  have  been  heartily 
remembered  in  our  prayers,  and  we  gladly  welcome 
you  home.  In  addition  to  the  newspapers  which 
Mrs.  Talbot  so  kindly  sent  to  Mrs.  Hole,  I  have 
had  an  interesting  letter  from  the  Rev'^  Algernon 
Crapsey,  with  reference  to  your  visit  to  Rochester, 
which  seemed  to  have  evoked  delight  and  admira- 
tion. That  Sunday  will  be  a  day  to  be  much 
remembered  by  hearers  and  preacher  also. 

I  regret  to  hear  that  you  had  cause,  on  your 
return  voyage,  to  sympathize  with  the  protest  of 
the  village  schoolmaster,  when  he  first  sailed  upon 
the  sea — 

"  They  say  Britannia  rules  the  waves, 
If  so,  I  wish  she'd  rule  'em  straighter,'' 

but  at  the  same  time,  owing  to  the  meanness  of 
human  nature,  and  the  truthfulness  of  the  French 
cynic  when  he  says,  "There  is  something  in  the 
misfortunes  of  others  which  does  not  altogether  dis- 
please  us,"  I  find  solace  in  remembering  that  there 
was  a  day  when  the  Dean  of  Rochester  was  ex- 
pected to  take  the  Service  on  board  the  "  Majestic  " 
and,  as  with  the  Bishop  on  Sunday  last,  he  had 
other  engagements. 

I    rejoice  in   Canon   Gore's   convalescence.      He 


i82    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

was  a  splendid  Chaplain.  Hoping  soon  to  meet, 
and  with  our  love  to  Mrs.  Talbot  and  to  you,  I 
remain, — Yours  ever  affectionately, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Henry  Silver. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
January  1 8,  1898. 

My  dear  Silver, — Your  letter  cheers  me 

I.  because,  tho'  I  am  not  a  bimetallist,  I  have  a 
great  appreciation  of  silver, 

n.  because  Mrs.  Silver's  convalescence  is  a 
happiness  to  all  who  know  her, 

HI.  because  you  promise  to  bring  her  to  the 
Deanery,   "when  the  green  leaves  come  again." 

Elgood  came  to  us  just  when  a  series  of  sunny 
days  had  brought  us  a  simultaneous  development 
of  beauty  in  our  herbaceous  border  ;  ^  and  I  doubt 
whether  we  shall  ever  see  the  like  again.  Never- 
theless, there  is  always  something  pretty  in  our 
garden  from  May  to  October,  the  Narcissus  in 
April,  the  Iris  in  May,  the  Roses  in  June,  the 
Pseonies  in  July,  and  a  mixture  of  perennials  and 
annuals  onward. 

— Yours  ever  sincerely,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

•  Mr.  Elgood  made  a  painting  of  this  border,  which  appears  as  the 
frontispiece  in  "  Our  Gardens,"  the  volume  the  Dean  wrote  for  the 
Haddon  Hall  Library. 


# 


THE    ROYAL   MENU  183 

Please  give  my  love  to  Tenniel  when  you  see 
him. 

To  Dean  Pigou. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  3,  1898. 

My  dear  Old  Friend, — If  the  Queen  only  knew 
that  you  are  as  entertaining  in  your  conversation  as 
you  are  profitable  in  your  preaching,  you  would 
partake  very  frequently  of  the  Royal  menu,  and  I 
wish  that  Her  Majesty  had  the  information,  because 
it  is  certainly  a  real  pleasure  to  have  a  gracious 
tHe-h-tete  with  such  a  noble  personage.^ 

Medio  de  fonte  leporu7n  surgit  amari  aliquid^  and 
I  had  cramp  in  both  legs  that  night  from  standing 
so  long  (tho'  a  man  now  of  long  standing)  in  the 
royal  presence. 

I  am  working  against  time,  in  ecclesiastical  and 
literary  engagements,  and  should  vastly  enjoy  one 
of  our  dear  quiet  old  talks.  I  have  almost  forgiven 
the  cruel  sufferings  which  you  inflicted  upon  me, 
when  Baron  Rothschild  purchased  "The  Times," 
and  the  porters  at  the  Newark  Station  saw  me  open 
"  Work  of  Art — perishable."  In  fact,  I  may  sign 
myself, — Yours  very  affectionately, 

Sanbey  Hole. 

1  Dean  Pigou  had  lightly  said  that  though  he  had  preached 
twelve  times  before  the  Queen,  he  had  never,  like  his  friend,  dined 
with  her. 


i84         THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

To  F.  Burnaby-Atkins. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  9,  1898. 

Since  I  dined  with  the  Queen,  and  had  a  most 
interesting  conversation  with  Her  Majesty,  I  have 
been  constrained  by  the  dignity  of  my  position  to 
rectify  the  boundaries  of  my  association  with  my 
fellow-men.  You  will,  I  know,  rejoice  to  hear  that 
I  have  decided  to  include  Deputy  Lieutenants 
within  the  circle,  and  that  I  shall  be  enabled  in 
consequence  to  maintain  my  intercourse  with  your- 
self, with  dear  Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins,  your  comely 
daughters,  and  Mr.  John  from  Oxford. 

When  I  dined  with  the  Queen,  and  had  a  most 
interesting  conversation  with  Her  Majesty,  we 
were  waited  upon  by  Orientals  in  scarlet  tunics 
and  turbans,  and  I  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  place 
one  of  your  establishment — may  I  suggest  A  ? — 
in  a  similar  attire  when  I  visit  Halstead.  If  B 
should  be  vested  in  the  costume  of  a  Page,  I 
should  feel  still  more  at  home,  and  the  retinue 
would  be  perfect  if  C  ^  might  appear  as  a  High- 
lander, with  or  without  the  pipes.  Believe  me  to 
be,  though  I  dine  with  the  Queen,  and  have  most 
interesting  conversations  with  Her  Majesty, — Faith- 
fully yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

*  A,  B,  and  C  were  three  men  employed  about  the  house  and 
grounds,  particularly  unsuited  to  the  parts  suggested. 


THE    EIGHTIETH    YEAR  185 

If  you  desire  to  show  me  for  any  charitable 
purpose  as .  I  appeared  at  the  Royal  Table,  I  will 
consider  your  application. 

To  Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 

{July  29/98]. 

The  King  of  Roses  to  the  Queen  of  Roses 
Greeting : 

We  hope  to  be  at  Halstead  Station  at  5.54  p.m. 
to-morrow.  (Signed)         Hole. 

To  HIS  Son. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 

November  17,  1898. 

My  dear  Son, — Many  thanks  for  your  letter.  I 
am  better,  but  the  recovery  of  strength  is  slow  with 
one  who  will  so  soon  enter  upon  his  80th  year.  I 
have  given  the  subject  of  the  plantation  every  con- 
sideration, as  an  old  gardener  knowing  the  ground, 
and  I  have  come  to  the  conviction  that  ornamental 
trees,  including  Geraldine's  Acacias  (I  have  not 
heard  of  "  Bessons  and  Decaismecenas  "  )  would  be 
far  more  beautiful  and  suitable  than  Austrian  Pines 
or  Yews.  No  block  is  needed,  because  it  is  already 
provided  between  the  Manor  Gardens  and  Free- 
man's  house,   and  to   make   a  heavy  screen    .    .    . 


i86    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

would  make  the  turn  of  the  road  very  damp,  dirty, 
and  dangerous.  I  should  strongly  advise  the  lighter, 
brighter,  and  more  graceful  method,  and  it  would,  I 
feel  sure,  give  general  satisfaction,  if  it  were  known 

that  you  had  no  desire  to  do an  injury,  but 

only  to  beautify  the  surroundings  of  the  Manor. 
There  are  few  things  which  tend  so  much  to  the 
happiness  of  life  as  the  goodwill,  when  it  can  be 
had,  of  our  neighbours. 

Do  not  forget  that  nurserymen  have  two  infirmi- 
ties ;  one  is  to  get  rid  of  expensive  trees,  and  the 
other  to  send  four  times  the  quantity  required. 

Golden  Yews,  Scarlet  and  Pink  Thorns,  Almonds, 
Double  Cherries,  Crabs,  Laurels  and  Laurestinus, 
Deutzias,  Spiraeas,  Sumachs,  Aucubas,  Lilacs  and 
Laburnum,  with  a  few  taller  trees  here  and  there, 
would  be  charming — Your  very  affect.  Father, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  HLs  Son. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  7,  1898. 

Dear  Hugh, — I  rejoice  in  your  joy  with  regard 
to  the  new  plantation.  You  are  quite  right  as  to 
Acer  Negtmda.  It  is  a  "Sport"  and  should  be 
used  sparsely.  Robinson  hates  it.  The  Snake- 
Wood  is  also  Maple.  We  have  a  good  specimen, 
and  it  is  much  the  more  valuable  tree. 


A    DERBY    MEMORY  187 

is  continually  taking  affront  and  will  soon 

forget  his  present  discomfiture.  He  is  the  sort 
of  man  who  should  be  well  kicked  quarterly,  and 
should  have  a  black  dose  monthly. —  Your  ever 
affectionate  Father, 

S.  Reynolds  Holp:. 

Was  it  Mr.  Knox  the  Police  Magistrate  whom 
you  met — one  of  the  most  brilliant  writers  in  "  The 
Times  "  in  his  day  ?  I  met  him  more  than  once 
in  the  house  of  John  Leech,  and  went  with  him 
(tell  it  not  in  Gath)  to  the  Derby. 


To  Mrs.   Markham. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
Decoiibcr  5,  1898. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Markham,  —  "What  a  nice 
letter ! "  I  said  to  myself,  when  1  had  read  your 
kind  words.  They  are  among  the  most  welcome 
of  my  "  Birthday  Honours,"  and  highly  valued  as 
expressing  the  sympathy  of  a  dear  and  sincere 
friend.  Yes,  I  have  entered  upon  my  eightieth  year 
to-day,  with  a  grateful  heart  for  the  countless 
mercies  of  the  past,  and  with  a  sure  and  certain 
hope  for  the  future,  through  the  Saviour's  infinite 
love. 

I  remember  a  time  when  I  thought  that,  if  I 
should  reach  my  present  age,  I  should  be  tottering 


i88         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

on  two  sticks,  with  an  ear-trumpet  a  yard  long,  and 
my  "  big  manly  voice  turning  again  to  childish 
treble "  ;  and  I  am,  therefore,  agreeably  surprised 
to  find  myself  with  much  power  of  happy  enjoy- 
ment, a  keen  sense  of  humour  (if  not  of  hearing), 
and  successful  competitions  at  Bowls.  But  my 
chief  delight  has  been  and  is,  as  you  say,  in  my 
love  of  the  Garden.  "Age  cannot  wither  it,  nor 
custom  stale  its  infinite  variety  "  ;  and  even  now  I 
am  writing  another  book  ^  on  the  subject,  which  I 
hope  to  send  you  when  it  is  published  at  Easter. 

Your  affectionate  friend, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Miss  Elkington. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
Ja7tuary  26,  1899. 

Dear  Miss  Elkington, — Accept  my  thanks 
for  your  letter,  which  has  given  me  much  pleasure, 
reminding  me  of  old  times,  places  and  faces,  very 
dear  to  me.  I  can  remember  your  mother's  visit  to 
Caunton,  altho'  the  memory  is  not  so  distinct  as 
some  other  "  Memories  of  Dean  Hole,"  to  which 
you  refer  so  kindly. 

I  should  delight  in  a  conversation  with  your 
mother,   but    I    am    in   my  8oth  year,  and  seldom 

'  "  Our  Gardens." 


i 


THE    ORCHESTRA'S    SALARY  189 

leave  home.  After  many  years  of  locomotion  (I 
have  preached  in  500  Churches,  including  most  of 
our  Cathedrals,  and  50  sermons  in  St.  Paul's),  I 
feel  a  strong  desire  to  rest  and  be  thankful. 

It  was  my  grandfather  who  married  a  Kercheval, 
and  had  13  children,  all  of  whom  went  together 
on  a  certain  Christmas  Day  with  their  parent  to 
Church  at  Caunton.  I  can  just  remember  my 
grandmother — a  dear  little  woman  in  a  black  silk 
dress,  and  her  grandson  is  6  feet  3^,  and  her  great- 
grandson  (my  son,  a  barrister)  6  feet  5.  Give  a 
Kinsman's  love  to  your  mother,  and  believe  me  to 

be, — Most  sincerely  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  Henry  Silver. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  4,  1899. 

My  DEAR  Silver, — In  "  Bacon's  Essays,"  No.  46, 
you  will  find  the  thoughts  about  "  Gardens "  of 
one  who  was  among  the  first  to  discover  the  true 
source  of  their  beauty. 

I  appreciate  your  kindness  in  reminding  me  of 
dear  Mr.  Richard  Owen's  love  of  his  birds.^  I 
have  remembered  it  gratefully,  ever  since  I  heard  it 
from  you. 

*  Walking  with  Sir  Richard  Owen  in  his  garden,  a  lady  noticed 
that  the  cherry  trees,  all  save  one,  were  netted.  She  called  his 
attention  to  this,  thinking  it  had  been  overlooked.  "  Oh  no,"  he 
answered,  "  it's  the  salary  of  the  orchestra." 


190         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Give  my  love  to  Tenniel.  I  am  doing  my 
best  to  catch  him,^  but  am  still  eight  months  be- 
hind.    I  shall  be  80  in  Dec'. — Yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  F.  Burnaby-Atkins. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  12,  1899. 

My  dear  Freddy, — I  withdrew  my  name  after 
the  Holborn  Meeting,  from  the  Council  and  Society 
of  the  English  Church  Union,  but,  after  an  appeal 
from  Lord  Halifax,  for  whom  I  have  a  great  re- 
gard, and  who  has  more  real  Religion  in  his  heart 
and  life  than  19  out  of  20  of  those  who  de- 
nounce him,  I  decided  to  bide  a  wee,  informing 
him,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  should  stand  by  the 
Archbishops  and  Bishops,  and  should  regard  the 
Queen  as,  in  all  matters  temporal  and  ecclesias- 
tical, supreme. 

If  the  English  Church  Union  in  any  way  takes 
part  with  disobedience,  e.g.  in  the  matter  of  Reser- 
vation, you  will  read  in  "  The  Times  "  that  I  am  no 
longer  a  member.  It  would  be  affectation  to  argue 
the  fact  that  such  an  announcement  would  influ- 
ence others,  and  I  therefore  forbear  to  make  it, 
until  I  am  constrained  by  some  special  resistance 
against  the  powers  that  be. 

1  Sir  John  Tenniel  had  just  reached  eighty. 


A    HOLIDAY  191 

has  had  a    satisfactory  interview   with  the 

Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  but  he  has  too  much 
sympathy  with  the  extremists.  He  is  a  brave 
soldier,  but  a  bad  general. 


Yours  ever  affectionately, 

S.  Reynolds   Hole. 


To  Joe  Birley. 

Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
August  21,  1899. 

Dear  Joe, — Come  when  you  can,  and  bring  your 
gun.  I  don't  think  that  the  shooting  here  is  large 
enough  to  let.  We  were  at  Thurgarton  on  Thurs- 
day last,  and,  returning  by  Maggerdate  Farm,  I 
was  reminded  of  an  incident  which  occurred  some 
years  [ago],  when  the  snow  was  on  the  ground.  It 
may  interest  you,  when  we  meet.  We  are  greatly 
enjoying  our  holiday  in  the  dear  old  home.  Of 
course  we  miss  the  odour  of  the  cement  works,  the 
music  of  the  foghorn  and  the  hurdy-gurdy,  and  the 
incessant  ringing  of  the  front-door  bell ;  but  we 
bear  the  trial  with  much  patience. 

If  you  happen  to  have  a  cigar-tube,  bring  it. — 
Yours  as  ever, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


T92  THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 


To  HIS  Son. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
St.Jolufs  Day,  1899. 

My  dear  Son, — I  greatly  honour  your  patriot- 
ism, though  my  heart  is  sore.  It  will  be  my 
constant  and  earnest  prayer  that  God  will  be  your 
defence  and  shield,  and  will  bring  safe  home  to, — 
Your  loving  Father, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

This  letter  refers  to  Mr.  Hugh  Hole  volunteering  for 
service  in  South  Africa.  Himself  six  feet  five,  he  raised 
a  section  of  eighteen  men  who  averaged  six  feet  in 
height  and  forty  inches  round  the  chest.  Half  of  them, 
moreover,  had  rowed  for  their  college  or  'varsity.  When 
he  told  his  father  of  this,  the  reply  was,  "You  ought  to 
bump  anything  Kruger  can  put  on  the  Tugela."  Mr. 
Hole's  section  was  a  remarkable  feature  of  the  C.I.V. 
They  sailed  in  the  Ariosto,  and  were  rushed  up  country 
to  garrison  the  Orange  River  Bridge  while  Paardeberg 
was  being  fought.  His  cyclists  were  sent  away  under 
General  Settle  and  earned  first-rate  credentials.  They 
were  used  for  despatch  riders,  as  Mr.  Hole  had  intended 
them  to  be.  While  with  the  C.I.V.  they  were  used  as  a 
section  of  cyclist  infantry,  and,  through  their  heavy  kit, 
were  quite  out  of  their  element.  Mr.  Hole  himself  took 
part  in  all  the  engagements  of  the  regiment  up  to 
Pretoria,  and  was  then  sent  down  to  do  duty  at  Bloem- 
fontein.  Here  he  soon  found  additional  work.  He 
submitted  a  scheme  of  civil  government  for  the  place 
to  Sir  G.  Pretyman,  the  Governor,  which  was  strongly 
approved  by  Lord  Roberts,  who  ordered  that  it  should 


CHILDISH    OBJECTIONS  193 

at  once  be  adopted.  Later  he  became  Secretary  to  the 
Mihtary  Governor  of  the  Free  State,  took  charge  of  the 
criminal  law,  and  was  made  editor  of  the  Government 
Gazette ;  he  was  also  Press  Censor  and  Crown  Pro- 
secutor, and  twice  Provost-Marshal  at  Bloemfontein. 
Very  few  who  volunteered  for  South  Africa  can  have 
seen  more  varied  service  during  the  war,  or  done  half- 
a-dozen  tasks — almost  at  the  same  time — with  more  spirit 
and  intelligence. 


To  HIS  Son. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  30,  1 899. 

My  dear  Son, — Is  there  anything,  which  I  could 
give  you,  in  place  of  the  glasses,  superseded  ?  I  am 
disappointed  to  hear  that  the  Bank  ^  make  Child-ish 
objections  to  contributing  a  good  cyclist  and  a 
good  shot  pro  patria.  I  honour  Edward,  and  dis- 
honour their  cheque. — Your  affectionate  Father, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Canon  Trebeck. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
February  6,  1900. 

My  dear  Trebeck, — I  thank  you  for  the  pleasure 
which  I  always  enjoy  in  hearing  from  such  a  dear 
and  genuine  old  friend ;  and  such  letters  are 
specially  cheering  when  all  have  been  more  or  less 

1  Child's  Bank. 

N 


194         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

depressed  in  body  by  influenza  and  in  mind  by  the 
war.  I  trust  that  you  and  your  dear  wife  are  now 
established,  strengthened,  and  settled  in  health. 

We  went  to  see  our  son  march  from  Wellington 
Barracks  "  when  the  dawn  of  the  morning  rose 
misty  and  grey,"  and  thence  to  the  Burnabys'  who 
have  taken  a  place,  having  let  their  own  in  Kent, 
near  Lichfield.  There  his  mother  collapsed,  and 
has  only  just  now  recovered  after  a  fortnight  in 
her  bedroom. 

Hugh  was  bound  to  go,  seeing  that  all  the 
members  of  the  Cycle  Corps  which  he  had  or- 
ganized, trained,  and  commanded  in  the  Inns  of 
Court  Volunteers,  desired  to  offer  their  services. 

I   greatly  appreciate  your  sympathy  concerning 

the  death  of  my  dear  nephew,    Marsland.      Very 

few    were  aware    that  beneath  the   surface,    which 

was  ever  sparkling  in  the  sun  of  his  worth,  there 

was  a  depth  of  religious  faith  and   charity  which 

has  borne  him  to  the  haven  where  he  would  be. — 

Always  your  affectionate  friend, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  THE  Rev.  Lord  Victor  Seymour. 

Rochester,  April  23,  1900. 
My  dear  Victor  Seymour, — Colonel  Hole  will 
rejoice  to  read  the  letter  from  his  officers  and  men, 
which  I  have  posted  this  morning.      Some  of  them 


THE   BOY   BUGLER  195 

may  like  to  see  his  photograph  and  the  paragraph, 
enclosed  for  their  inspection,  with  his  father's  kind 
regards  and  good  wishes.  We  have  very  in- 
teresting letters  from  Hugh.  At  present  he  is  in 
command  of  a  small  company  on  the  banks  of  the 
Orange  River,  guarding  the  railway  and  protecting 
the  loyal  farmers  from  the  Boers.  The  boy  bugler 
at  Eton  little  thought  of  hard  work  in  Africa ! 

I  rejoice,  as  a  patriot,  to  hear  that  you  have 
another  son.  May  he  not  only  have  what  Keble 
calls  "notes  of  fatherhood,"  but  "notes  of  mother- 
hood "  also — so  keeping  the  child's  heart  in  the 
brave  man's  breast.  How  sweet  the  little  ones 
are.  We  had  our  admirable  Archbishop  here 
yesterday,  to  preach  a  most  eloquent,  emphatic 
(and  illogical)  sermon  on  temperance,  and  it  was 
delightful  to  hear  our  small  granddaughter  address- 
ing him — without  instruction — as  "  Your  Grace." 
— Your  affectionate  friend,     S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Mrs.  Farrar. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
The  Epiphany^  1900. 

Dear  Mrs.  Farrar, — I  am  very  sorrowful,  but 
not  surprised,  to  hear  that  my  dear  friend  ^  has 
received  an  intimation  that  he  has  exhausted  for  a 
time  his  marvellous  store  of  mental  and   physical 

^  Dean  Farrar. 


196    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

power.  I  can  think  of  no  instance  in  which  one 
man  has  done  so  much  work  as  an  author,  preacher, 
teacher,  and  speaker.  The  difficulty  will  be  to 
induce  him  to  be  convinced  that  his  strength  is  to 
sit  still,  and  to  keep  him  from  the  front  until  his 
wound  is  healed. 

With  earnest  prayer  for  the  speedy  and  complete 
restoration  of  his  health,  I  remain, — Yours  ever 
sincerely,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Admiral  Sir  Henry  Nicholson. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
July  1900. 

My  dear  Admiral, — I  should  not  tell  you,  if  I 
could,  how  greatly  we  shall  rejoice  to  welcome  you 
with  Lady  Nicholson,  because  you  would  say  that 
the  Dean  was  piling  it  up  too  mountainous,  and  was 
hifalutinating.  I  shall,  therefore,  restrain  myself, 
and  merely  remark  that  no  more  pleasant  intimation 
could  have  come  to  us  than  the  promise  of  your 
presence  on  the  loth  of  April.  Of  course  you  will 
stay  for  the  Sunday,  and  as  long  afterwards  as  you 
can  oblige  and  refresh  us  with  your  genial  com- 
pany— 

And  the  lawn  shall  be  rolled, 

And  the  balls  shall  be  bowled, 
And  the  Dean,  tho'  he's  old, 
Shall  be  buoyant  and  bold  : 


TAPTON    FRUIT  197 

And  o'er  his  thresh-old, 
In  bright  letters  of  gold, 
This  news  shall  be  told  : — 

That  the  Lady  and  Knight, 
All  comely  and  bright. 
Are  orladdeninof  the  life 
Of  the  Dean  and  his  wife. 

To  Mrs.  Markham. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
August  31,  1900. 

My  dear  Mrs,  Markham, — The  goddess  Pomona 
could  not  be  more  successful  in  the  possession,  or 
more  generous  in  the  distribution,  of  beautiful  fruit 
than  my  most  kind  friend  at  Tapton.  When  the 
cornucopia  was  emptied  it  was  indeed  "  a  sight  to 
make  an  old  man  young,"  and  would  have  gladdened 
the  eyes  of  two  Famous  Men,  Sir  Joseph^  and 
George  Stephenson.  Both  would  have  uttered 
kind  words  of  praise  to  Mr.  Grimes,  but  neither 
could  have  appreciated  his  excellent  culture  more 
gratefully  than  we  do. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  about  to  enjoy  a 
change  of  air  and  scene.  Such  emigrations  are 
more  conducive  to  health  than  all  the  medicines  in 
the  pharmacopoeia.     I  rejoice,  also,  that  Violet  is  well 

^  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  Mrs.  Markham's  father.     George  Stephenson 
lived  at  Tapton. 


198         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

enough  to  resume  little  trips  round  the  Universe. 
If  she  writes  another  book,  I  wish  she  would  take 
me  into  her  confidence  as  an  old  literary  hand. 
— Affectionately  yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  Canon  Tetley  Rowe. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  5  {Zist  anttiversary  of  my  birth),  1900. 

My  dear  Rowe, — I  have  been  away  to  preach 
at  St.  Mary's,  Nottingham  (the  congregation  made 
a  collection  of  £1  per  annum,  that  is,  £1  for  every 
year  of  my  life),  or  I  should  have  sent  you  an 
earlier  reply  to  the  effect  that  I  consider  you  a 
grand  example  of  the  rule,  "  Aide  toi,  Dieu  t'aidera," 
and  I  heartily  congratulate  you  on  the  bright  hope 
that  you  will  see  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  at  Chat- 
ham "  set  in  its  state."  The  presence  of  the  Hero 
from  South  Africa^  would  enlist  much  sympathy.  I 
have  annotated  Feb.  6,  and  will  come  if  I  can. — 
Affectionately  yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  THE  Rector  of  Chatham. 

December  18,  1900. 

My  dear  Rowe, — Another  "regrettable  inci- 
dent "  ; "  but  keep  smiling. — Affectionately  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

*  Lord  Roberts.  *  I.e.  In  the  war. 


GOD   REST   OUR   QUEEN  199 


To  Admiral  Sir  Henry  Nicholson. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
February  10,  190 1. 

My  dear  Admiral,  —  Kind  words  are  very 
precious  which  come  from  the  true  heart  of  a  dear 
friend,  and  they  never  fail  to  fulfil  their  intention, 
and  to  give  pleasure  to  those  who  read.  I  rejoice 
to  hear  that  my  verses  are  liked  by  yourself  and 
Lady  Nicholson  (who  is  in  the  business,^  and  an 
expert),  and  your  remarks  about  my  son  seem  to 
me  to  be  so  apt  for  the  encouragement  of  his 
ambition,  that  I  have  sent  them  for  his  perusal.  I 
know  that  he  will  value  them  highly. 

When  will  you  bring  Lady  Nicholson  to  see  the 
Window  ?  I  feel  sure  that  you  will  admire  it,  and 
I  regard  it  as  the  best  in  the  Cathedral.  Mrs. 
Hole  bids  me  say  how  heartily  and  happily  we 
shall  welcome  you.  Will  you  come  now  or  in  the 
time  of  Bowls  ? 

You  take  such  a  brotherly  interest  in  my  small 
compositions  that  you  will  be  interested  to  hear 
that  my  hymn  ^  was  sung  by  the  Windsor  Choir 
at  Osborne  m  the  room  where  lay  the  body  of  our 
beloved  Queen,  and  was  approved  by  the  Royal 
mourners. 


^  The  poetical  business.  2  "  God  Rest  Our  Queen." 


200         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Prune  the  rose  trees  early  in  March,  digging  in 
such  manure  as  is  not  exhausted. 

We  are  longing  to  repeat  our  most  delightful 
visit,  which  will  become  a  beautiful  possibility  after 
you  have  visited  us.  Meanwhile,  with  our  love,  I 
remain, — Your  affectionate  friend, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  May  Burnaby-Atkins. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
February  24,  1901. 

Dearest  May, — Your  most  welcome  letter  Inclos- 
ing Mr. 's  Billet  doux  (bill  from  Sweet  William), 

was  like  the  spoonful  of  delicious  preserve  which 
followed  a  Black  Dose  in  my  childhood,  and 
effectually  overcame  the  unpleasant  flavour  which 
always  accompanies  a  claim  for  payment,  even 
when  it  is  so  moderate  and  long-deferred,  as  the 
one  before  me.  I  have  sent  a  cheque.  In  order 
that  the  Sweet  William  may  be  settled  in  its  bank} 
You  have  been  often  in  my  thoughts,  since  I  heard 
of  that  disastrous  somersault.  Really,  those  inter- 
lopers or  interleapers  make  any  Orlando  Furioso, 
and  turn  smiling  May  into  chill  October. 

With  large  love  I  remain, — Your  ever  affectionate 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

1  "Sweet  William,"  a  nickname  for  the  old  family  doctor;  Miss 
Burnaby-Atkins  had  had  a  fall  from  her  horse. 


THE    REVIEWERS  201 

To  Mrs.  Maxwell  (May  Burnaby- Atkins). 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
Sunday. 

Dearest  May, — I  send  you  some  newspaper 
cuttings,  having  reference  to 

Our  Book.^ 

By  far  the  most  gratifying  and  important  is  the 
review  from  "  Literature,"  a  weekly  paper  published 
under  the  auspices  and  at  the  Printing  Offices  of 
*'  The  Times."  It  will  please  you,  as  it  has  pleased 
me  much,  and  it  evokes  the  hope,  that,  unless  "  The 
Times  "  is  a  house  divided  against  itself,  we  may 
have  some  further  words  of  kindness  from  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Judicature. 

"  The  Scotsman  "  is  canny,  and  puts  more  water 
in  his  whiskey  than  upon  former  occasions,  but 
I  think  with  "Literature,"  notwithstanding,  that 
"Then  and  Now"  is  a  more  sterling  book  than 
"  Memories,"  though  the  latter  had,  in  more 
prosperous  times,  a  wonderful  success. 

I  hope  you  had  good  sport  on  Saturday,  and 
wish  all  success  to  your  Concert  to-morrow,  although 
the  music  must  of  course  be  painfully  inferior  to 
that  of  the  hound  and  the  horn.  With  dear  love 
to  those  you  love  dearly, — Your  loving  old 

Uncle  Reynolds. 

1  "Then  and  Now,"  Dean  Hole's  last  book,  which  he  dictated  to 
his  niece. 


202         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 


To  THE  Bishop  of  Rochester. 

COLOMENDY,  MOLD, 
July  20,  1 90 1. 

My  dear  Lord  Bishop, — I  have  a  strong 
suspicion  that  the  inundation  of  the  Nave  at 
Rochester  was  a  knavish  conspiracy  of  the  Tee- 
totallers to  submerge  the  Cathedral,  during  the 
absence  of  the  Dean.  The  vergers  have  had 
Water-on-the- Brain,  but  Messrs.  Bishop  &  Sons 
from  London  have  assured  Mr.  Luard  Selby  that 
there  is  no  organic  disease. 

I  have  regarded  it  as  my  duty,  in  anticipation 
of  your  lordship's  visit  to  North  Wales  on  Wednes- 
day next,  to  see  that  all  due  preparations  are  made 

to  receive  you.     I  have  been  to  ,  and  found 

that  the  new  Chancel  is  making  satisfactory  progress. 
The  new  Altar  frontal  is  beautiful,  the  tea  and 
bread  and  butter  at  the  Rectory  are  excellent,  the 
roses  in  the  garden  are  making  extra  efforts,  the 
schoolmistress  is  in  good  health,  the  mountains 
are  drawn  up  in  saluting  order,  the  mines  are 
smoking  peacefully,  there  will  be  cold  lamb  at  the 
luncheon,  weather  permitting,  and  all  frivolous 
persons  will  be  banished  to  England,  including 
yours  ever, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


THE    BOZ   CLUB  203 


To  Sir  F.  C.  Burnand. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
November  13,  1901. 

My  dear  Burnand, — I  appreciate  toto  corde, 
with  my  whole  heart,  the  kind  words  which  I  have 
just  read  in  "  Punch."  The  first  edition  of  my  new 
book  was  exhausted  soon  after  pubHcation,  and  this 
genial,  generous  eulogium  by  "The  Baron"  will  be 
most  helpful  to  No.  2. 

I  hope  that  you  are  in  better  health. 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

"Dean  Hole,"  writes  Sir  F.  C.  Burnand,  "received 
the  Boz  Club  at  Rochester,  and  showed  us  about.  He 
was  down  here  (Ramsgate)  on  two  or  three  occasions, 
and  the  air  set  him  up  and  going  again  for  some  time." 


To  George  Winch. 

Orgreave  Hall,  Lichfield, 
December  26,  1901. 

My  dear  Winch, — I  am  delighted  with  the 
clever,  ornamental  and  useful  souvenir  which  you 
have  sent  to  me,  as  a  schoolboy  with  a  new  knife, 
and  it  is  much  admired  by  a  large  party  of  my 
kinsfolk  and  acquaintance.  It  is  an  admirable 
appendage  to  the  beautiful  watch  given  to  me  on 
my  82nd  birthday,   by  my   brother-clergy,  and   as 


204         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

it  tells  me  the  hours  of  the  night  I  shall  be  hence- 
forth, both  in  daylight  and  darkness,  up  to  date. 

You  are  as  thoughtful  and  graceful  in  the  selec- 
tion of  your  gifts  as  you  are  generous  in  giving. 
"  Evermore  thanks,  the  exchequer  of  the  poor," 
and  heartiest  wishes  for  the  welfare  of  you  and 
yours,  from — Your  very  sincere  friend, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  Lady  Falmouth. 

Orgreave  Hall,  Lichfield, 
December  2%,  1901. 

Dear  Lady  Falmouth, — I  have  seen  the 
"  Crimson  Rambler "  in  its  best  form,  at  Tren- 
tham,  Penrhyn,  and  elsewhere,  on  pergolas  and  on 
pillars,  but  I  never  admired  it  more  than  when  I 
received  it  this  morning, — not  only  for  the  surprise 
and  beauty  of  the  flowers,  but  because  it  was  ac- 
companied by  the  kind  words  and  good  wishes  of 
one  whose  friendship  I  prize  most  highly.  Altho' 
it  was  somewhat  depressed  on  arrival,  after  its 
long  journey  from  Truro  to  Rochester,  and  from 
Rochester  to  Lichfield,  it  has  revived  wonderfully 
in  water,  "cheers  the  ungenial  day,"  "gladdens  the 
woman's  heart,"  and  makes  the  old  man  young. 
I  know  something  of  the  influence  of  the  Cornish 
climate  in  its  al  fresco  vegetation,  but  was  not 
prepared  for  this   lovely  phenomenon.      The   rose 


QUEEN   OF   FLOWERS  205 

must  have  made  an  exceptional  effort  in  recognition 
of  your  devotion  to  the  Queen  of  Flowers,  and  its 
efflorescence  reminds  me  of  the  dedication  of  a 
song — 

"To  the  beautiful  and  accomplished  Lady  Emily  G., 
Whose  smile  would  make  a  summer,  where  darkness  else  would  be." 

I  am  glad  that  Veitch  sent  you  a  good  plant  of 
"Queen  Alexandra,"  and  am  ashamed  to  say  that 
I  never  heard  of  "  Hermosa." 

I  shall  speculate  mentally  as  to  the  alterations  at 
Newark  until  they  delight  my  eyes. — Most  sincerely 
yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  Mrs.  Burnaby-Atkins. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
March  3,  1902. 

Dearest  Elizabeth, — I  rejoice  to  hear  that  you 
will  come  to  us  some  day  next  week,  and  I  anxiously 
hope  that  you  will  approve  the  preparations  which 
I  am  making  for  your  visit.  I  have  purchased  the 
lightest  skiff  which  has  ever  been  launched,  and  I 
propose,  in  an  elegant  suit  of  white  duck,  with  straw 
hat  and  blue  ribbons,  silk  stockings  and  pumps,  to 
row  you  on  the  Medway.  I  have  also  secured  a 
cross-country  motor  car,  ivory  mounted  with  silver, 
which  jumps  fences  and  brooks,  and  plays  beautiful 
tunes  from  a  musical  box  about  the  size  of  a 
portmanteau. 


2o6         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

And  I  feel  sure  that  you  will  be  pleased  with  my 
new  Balloon,  guided  by  the  great  French  aeronaut. 

Thus  I  hope  to  give  you  enjoyable  exercise  on 
water,  on  land,  and  in  air;  and,  for  our  restful 
moments,  I  have  ordered  76  tons  of  fireworks  from 
Mr.  Brock  of  the  Crystal  Palace,  43  Blue  Hungarian 
Bands,  16  circuses,  and  10  Music  Halls.  Fountains, 
300  feet  in  height,  will  play  the  choicest  champagne, 
and  every  man,  woman,  and  child  will  be  presented 
with  a  ^10  note,  after  drinking  the  health  of  "  Our 
lovely  visitor,  the  Queen  of  all  the  Lilies." 

Please  make  any  additions  which  you  may  wish 
to  this  programme  of  your  loving  brother, 

Reynolds. 

To  Mr.  W.  F.  Grundy. 

Jidy  19,  1902. 

Dear  Mr.  Grundy, — I  am  delighted  with  the 
roses,  so  vigorous  in  growth,  rich  in  colour,  and 
sweet  in  fragrance.  We  get  some  pretty  roses 
here,  in  our  city  garden,  and  from  our  chalky  soil, 
by  selection  of  the  fittest  and  generous  treatment, 
but  they  have  not  the  fulness,  nor  the  freshness,  of 
those  which  you  have  kindly  sent.  Some  of  the 
best  roses  for  small  gardens  are  La  France,  Ulrich 
Brunner,  Mrs.  John  Laing,  Caroline  Testout,  Mer- 
veille  de  Lyon,  Madame  Isaac  Periere,  Blairii  2 
(for  pillar),  Lord  Penzance's  Sweet  Briars,  Marie 
Van    Houtte,    Polyanthas,    Perle   d'Or   and    Cecile 


BIRDS  207 

Brunner,  Crimson  Rambler,  Madame  Alfred  Car- 
riere  (for  pillars),  Gustave  Regis,  Marguerite 
Dickson.     "  '  Green  Roses'  are  ugly  freaks." 

To  George  A.  B.   Dewar. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
November  22,  1902. 

My  dear  Friend, — Very  near  to  the  83rd  anni- 
versary of  my  birth,  I  am  exempt  from  any  tempta- 
tions to  gush,  and  only  speak  words  of  truth  and 
soberness,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  heartily  rejoice 
in  a  sympathy,  which  has  sent  me  one  of  the 
most  delightful  books  ^  which  I  have  ever  read. 

Delightful,  though  it  brings  to  me  a  regretful 
sorrow  and  shame  that  I  have  been  very  blind  and 
deaf  to  the  beauty,  the  habits,  and  the  music  of 
birds,  and  that,  ever  since  I  shot  my  first  part- 
ridge with  flint  and  steel,  my  ornithology  has  been 
too  exclusively  associated  with  a  *'  licence  to  kill 
game."  ^ 

'  "The  Birds  in  Our  Wood." 

^  He  was,  however,  a  constant  watcher  of  the  rooks  in  the  Deanery 
garden.  "  A  special  interest  that  I  shared  with  him,"  writes  a  friend, 
•"  was  an  almost  breathless  excitement  as  to  the  number  of  nests  the 
rooks  would  build  each  year  in  his  garden.  We  knew  so  well  that 
there  was  just  a  chance  that  the  first  nest  would  appear  late  in 
February,  and  when  the  ist  of  March  had  come  before  the  rooks 
showed  any  signs  of  building,  our  spirits  were  very  low  indeed.  If 
either  of  us  was  away  it  was  the  business  of  the  other  to  keep  the 
absentee  informed,  if  by  any  chance  the  record  total  of  nests  should 
be  beaten.  '  Hurrah,  24  easy  ! '  ran  an  enigmatical  postcard  I  received 
.from  him  once." 


2o8    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

I  will  not  plead  the  poor  apology  that  so  many 
of  my  friends  have  been  subject  to  the  same 
infirmity,  and  that  to  the  majcvity  of  Englishmen 
there  comes  a  time  when,  if  a  near  relative  sud- 
denly emerged  from  stubble  or  turnips,  the  instincts 
of  destruction  might  precede  the  recognitions  of 
love  ;  but  I  do  find  real  consolation  in  the  privilege, 
which  has  been  given  to  me  for  some  60  years, 
of  a  reverent  admiration  for  our  wonderful  trees 
and  flowers ;  and  this  long  and  happy  experience 
enables  me  to  reply  to  your  question,  as  to  what 
will  happen  "when  you  are  50,  or  even  60,"  as  to 
your  association  with  the  birds  and  the  woods.  In 
your  own  words,  the  faith  "  that  those  who  love 
and  watch  do  absorb  within  themselves  some  goodly 
portion  of  these  precious  things  "  will  always  uphold 
you  ;  the  wren  will  always  laugh  for  you  ;  the  ring- 
dove will  soothe  you  with  his  gentle  song ;  the  sky- 
lark shall  "sing  hymns  to  sunrise";  and  in  the 
fir-tree  walk,  the  turtle-dove  lane,  the  wet  coppice, 
and  the  woods,  you  shall  find  new  revelations  until 
the  nightingale  begins  "her  music  of  the  morn." 
I  will  only  add  now,  that  the  illustrations  are 
charming,  and  that  some  day  it  will  give  me  intense 
pleasure  to  tell  you,  with  the  aid  of  my  pencil  anno- 
tations, the  special  admiration  of  yours  very  grate- 
fully and  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


THE   NAMESAKE  209 


To  W.  G.  Hole. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
December  i,  1902. 

My  dear  Synonym,^ — I  thankfully  appreciate 
your  kind  letter,  and  am  sure,  from  a  brief  pre- 
vision, that  I  shall  enjoy  the  impressive  pathos 
and  sweet  music  of  the  poems.  I  am  glad  to  be 
enlightened  as  to  the  verses  in  "The  Pilot,"  and 
feel  more  honest,  though  denuded  of  a  beautiful 
borrowed  plume. 

I  wish  we  could  prove  kinsmanship,  but  zve  have 
no  records  beyond  Hugh  Hole,  Vicar  of  Caunton, 
in  1567. 

I  hope  you  will  write  a  Tragedy. 

If  you  are  in  proximity  to  Rochester  come  and 
see, — Yours  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


^  Mr.  W.  G.  Hole  was  constantly  being  mistaken  for  Dean  Hole. 
In  one  instance  "The  Times"  published  a  poem  by  Mr.  Hole,  and 
sent  a  cheque  to  the  Dean.  Mr.  Hole  writes  :  "I  have  found  it  almost 
impossible  to  get  away  from  '  inajo7-i  Jiomiiiis  lanbraJ  A  poem  of 
mine  in  'The  Pilot'  had  been  the  subject  of  an  article  in  one  of  the 
illustrated  weeklies  commenting  on  it  as  the  work  of  the  Dean  ;  the 
wife  of  the  headmaster  of  one  of  the  public  schools  read  another  from 
'The  Spectator'  at  a  large  'Afternoon,'  and  informed  the  people  that 
it  was  by  Dean  Hole — my  astounded  wife  being  one  of  the  guests  ; 
while  I  had  long  been  accustomed  to  murmur  upon  being  introduced 
to  a  stranger — in  anticipation  of  the  inevitable  question  :  '  No — unless 
very,  very  distantly.'" 

O 


210         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 


To  THE  Editor  of  "The  Times." 

Sir, — Are  we  English  Churchmen  to  ignore  all 
Acts  of  Uniformity  and  vows  of  obedience,  sub- 
stituting, as  our  rule,  that  every  man  shall  do  that 
which  is  right  in  his  own  eyes  and  be  wise  in  his 
own  conceits?  Are  we  to  accept  not  only  altera- 
tions and  additions,  but  omissions  and  subtractions  ? 
May  we  not  only  embellish,  gild,  and  paint,  but 
remove  or  break  down  our  carved  work  with  axes 
and  hammers  as  we  please  ?  Are  we  no  longer  to 
"hear  the  Church,"  and  submit  to  her  authority, 
but  to  follow  our  own  imaginations,  every  man 
his  own  lawyer  and  every  man  his  own  Pope  ? 
Are  we  to  learn  the  articles  of  the  Christian  faith 
from  councils,  fathers,  and  doctors,  or  from  newly- 
made  masters  of  arts,  from  German  commentators, 
the  scribes  and  disputers  of  the  20th  century,  from 
magazines  and  encyclopaedias?  Are  we  to  "ask 
for  the  old  paths,  that  we  may  walk  therein,"  or 
do  we  look  for  chariots  of  fire  and  a  whirlwind  to 
bear  us  heavenward  ? 

Shall  it  be  Athanasius  contra  fnundum,  or  Mundus 
contra  Athanasiuni  f  The  creed  to  which  his  name 
is  attached  is  said,  when  it  is  ordered,  in  most  of 
our  churches  but  omitted  in  many.  Recently  we 
read  that  in  Westminster  Abbey  a  selection  was 
sung,  a  compromise  or  blend  between  the  Catholic 


THE    MARRIAGE    SERVICE  211 

and  Protestant  faith,  a  sanctified  "  Auld  Lang 
Syne." 

The  Marriage  Service  is  frequently  mutilated. 
In  London,  pre-eminently,  on  the  occasion  of  a 
wedding  in  the  upper  classes,  society  represents 
itself  as  not  only  immaculately  pure,  but  prudish. 
It  is  shocked  at  the  very  mention  of  anything  which 
might  be  associated  in  a  corrupt  mind  with  evil. 
We  do  not  come  here,  it  seems  to  say,  in  our  best 
clothes,  to  hear  about  babies,  and  the  education 
of  children,  which  belongs  to  the  nursery-governess  ; 
we  regard  the  allusions  to  continency  and  inconti- 
nency  as  indecent ;  we  do  not  desire  instruction 
as  to  hair-dressing,  ornaments,  and  putting  on  of 
apparel ;  and  we  greatly  prefer  a  short  sentimental 
address  to  that  wearisome  quotation  of  texts.  They 
succeed  too  often  in  persuading  the  clergyman  to 
comply. 

"It  is  as  when  one  letteth  out  or  letteth  in 
water,"  the  outlet  in  the  reservoir  or  the  leakage 
in  the  ship,  which  will  destroy  life  if  it  be  not 
closed.  If  Mr.  Brown  may  omit  or  expurgate 
the  Marriage  Service  as  Mr.  Bowdler  expurgated 
Shakespeare,  Mr.  Jones  may  leave  out  any  refer- 
ence to  regeneracy  in  baptism,  and  Mr.  Robinson 
may  be  silent  as  to  any  hope  for  his  brother 
lying  in  the  grave  at  his  feet.  And  what  answer 
shall  we  make  to  the  question,  "  How  is  it,  when 
ye  come  together,   that   every  one  of  you  hath  a 


212         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

psalm,  a  doctrine,  a  revelation,  an  interpretation?" 
— I  am.  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 
The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
January  19,  1903. 

To  George  Paul. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
Februajy  7,  1903. 

Dear  Friend, — I  have  just  read  in  the  last 
number  of  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
the  report  of  your  very  interesting  remarks  on 
Exhibition  Roses ;  and  you  will,  I  am  sure,  permit 
me  to  express  my  disappointment  that  in  your 
epitome  of  the  history  of  Rose-Shows  you  have 
ignored  the  fact  that  until  July  i,  1858,  there  had 
been  in  England  no  Exhibition  of  Roses  only.  I 
suggested  a  National  Rose  Show  in  1857,  and, 
after  many  difficulties,  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  a 
few  enthusiasts,  who  helped  me  to  collect  sub- 
scriptions, to  organize,  and  to  realize  with  a  com- 
plete success  the  Exhibition  in  London.  The 
expenditure  exceeded  ^200,  and  it  was  my  privi- 
lege to  present  36  silver  cups  to  the  successful 
exhibitors.  I  have  been  repaid  a  thousandfold  for 
my  exertions  by  the  results  which  have  ensued  ; 
but  I  am  none  the  less  anxious  to  retain  the  good- 
will, which  I  value  so  highly,  of  my  brother 
rosarians. — Yours  very  sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


"THEN   AND   NOW"  213 

To  Joseph  K.  Still. ^ 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
April  28,  1903. 

Dear  Brother  in  Christ, — I  thank  you  most 
heartily  for  your  welcome  words  in  reference  to  my 
book  "Then  and  Now."  It  has  brought  me  many 
kind  commendations  from  the  Press,  and  private 
correspondence,  but  I  can  assure  you  that  not  one 
has  gratified  me  more  than  this  expression  of 
sympathy  and  brotherly  love,  from  the  Wesleyan 
Mission  in  North  China. 

Thanks  be  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom, 
though  seas  may  separate,  we  have  this  fellow- 
ship one  with  another,  and  by  whom,  though  there 
be  diversities  of  gifts,  and  differences  of  adminis- 
tration, we  can  hold  the  Faith  in  unity  of  Spirit, 
in  the  bond  of  peace,  and  in  righteousness  of  life. 

Your  letter  impresses  me  with  an  affectionate 
regard,  and  with  a  great  respect,  for  your  sacred 
and  noble  enterprise.  Should  you  return  to  Eng- 
land at  no  distant  time,  I  should  rejoice  to  hold  out 
to  you  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  but  I  am  in  my 
84th  year,  and  the  days  of  my  pilgrimage  will  soon 
be  over. 

Accept  an  old  man's  blessing,  and  believe  him 
to  be, — Most  sincerely  yrs., 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

^  Of  the  Wesleyan  Mission,  Sui-Chow,  China. 


214         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 


To  George  A.  B.  Dewar. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
May  1 6,  1903. 

My  genial  and  generous  Friend, — You  have 
sent  me  a  most  acceptable  gift.^  George  Herbert 
is  conspicuous  in  my  Valhalla  of  heroes ;  the  writer 
of  the  Preface,  John  Inglesant,  was  my  friend  ;  and 
the  kind  words  of  the  donor 

Stir  the  blood  in  an  old  man's  heart, 
And  make  his  pulses  fly. 

The  book  is  placed  by  the  side  of  "The  Priest 
to  the  Temple"  (edition  2,  1671)  given  to  me, 
60  years  ago,  by  an  Oxford  friend.  Maxwell  Lyte, 
"bound  and  lettered  by  my  father" — Henry  Lyte, 
the  author  of  "Abide  with  me,"  "The  Sailor's 
Grave,"  and  many  pathetic  verses. 

Ten  days  ago  my  wife  and  I  lunched  with  a 
niece  of  ours,  who  has  recently  married,  and  in- 
habits a  small  tenement  known  as  i  Cheyne  Walk. 
I  asked  the  driver  of  our  hansom  to  stop  at  34 
Cheyne  Court  on  our  way  to  the  Station,  but  he 
preferred,  from  motives  which  he  did  not  com- 
municate, to  take  us  to  Chelsea  Court,  and  it 
became  a  matter  of  nulla  vestigia  retrorsum  if  we 
were  to  catch  the  train.      I  venture  to  think  that 

^  George  Herbert's  "Temple";  a  facsimile  of  first  edition. 


JACK   FROST  215 

Colonel  and  Mrs.  Ronald  Maxwell  would  be 
approved  by  Mrs.  Dewar  and  yourself,  if  you 
were  disposed  to  call  on  them. 

She  is  a  lover  of  "whatsoever  things  are  lovely," 
and  he  is  a  brave  soldier  and  gentleman,  in  the  War 
Office,  A.A.G.,  and  on  Lord  Roberts'  Staff. 

I  should  prize  a  small  piece  of  the  Speedwell, 
and  Mrs.  Hole  has  a  way  of  making  everything 
to  grow.  I  am  a  lover  of  Roman  Hyacinths,  but 
cannot  remember  any  gardens  at  Rome.  The 
success  will  depend  on  the  writer,  and  your 
decision  will  be  right. — Most  sincerely  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

We  must  meet  this  summer.  Could  you  not 
give  us  a  day  in  the  latter  part  of  June?  I  dare 
not  say  in  "the  month  of  Roses,"  for  at  present 
there  seems  small  hope  of  their  recovery.  Jack 
Frost,  like  Jack  Cade,  would  be  a  regicide,  if  he 
could,  and  his  attempts  at  assassination  have  never 
been  so  near  to  success  as  now. 


To  T.   H.  FooRD. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
July  17,  1903. 

I  cannot  express  the  feelings  of  surprise  and 
delight,  which  brought  tears  to  my  eyes,  and 
thankful  praise  to  my  lips,  when  I  heard  from  Mr. 


2i6         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

Arnold  this  morning  of  your  most  generous  inten- 
tion to  give  Five  thousand  pounds  to  be  expended 
on  our  Cathedral. 

As  we  have  no  longer  any  special  fund  from 
which  we  may  repair  or  beautify  the  fabric,  and 
as  our  incomes  have  been  greatly  reduced  since 
I  came  to  Rochester,  your  munificence  is  most 
opportune,  and  will  be  most  gratefully  appreciated 
by  all  who  visit  our  grand  old  Church,  and 
especially  by  those  who  worship  within  its  walls. 

Our  organ  is  in  a  sad  state  of  decay,  and  has 
none  of  the  many  modern  improvements.  To 
make  it  a  perfect  instrument  would  require  a 
large  outlay  (the  estimates  are  between  ^1500 
and  ;^200o),  and  we  had  thought  of  an  appeal 
to  the  public,   tho'  it  seemed  hopeless. 

Should  you  assent  to  our  appropriation  of  a 
part  of  your  gift  to  this  purpose,  with  a  notifica- 
tion that  the  work  had  been  done  at  your 
expense?  It  would  be  a  splendid  offering  for 
God's  Service.— Believe  me  to  be,  most  thank- 
fully and  sincerely  yours, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  T.  H.  FooRD. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
July  11,  1903. 

You  have  made  this  day  one  of  the  most  memor- 
able and  happy  days  of  my  life.     Within  the  space 


GUNDULPH  217 

of  one  hour  I  signed,  as  Patron  and  Governor 
of  Saint  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  Rochester,  a 
receipt  of  your  noble  gift  of  Five  Thousand  five 
hundred  pounds,  and  afterwards,  as  Dean  of 
Rochester,  of  the  Five  Thousand,  which,  in  the 
same  munificent  spirit,  you  have  contributed  for 
the  Restoration  of  our  Cathedral. 

Such  generosity  reminds  me  of  Gundulph,  the 
greatest  benefactor  of  our  city,  the  Founder  of 
our  Hospital,  and  the  Builder  of  our  Beautiful 
Church ;  and  how  can  a  man  make  a  more 
excellent  use  of  money  than  by  promoting  the 
worship  of  Him,  "Who  giveth  all,"  and  by 
relievinof  his  fellow-creatures  from  suffering-  and 
disease  ? 

You  may  be  sure,  my  dear  Sir,  that  no  portion 
of  your  splendid  offering  will  be  spent  without 
your  approval,  but  I  trust  you  will  not  think  me 
presumptuous  if  I  venture  to  suggest  that  no  part 
of  our  Cathedral  is  in  more  need  of  restoration 
than  our  grand  old  organ,  which  for  so  many 
years  has  been  such  a  help  to  devotion  and  to 
the  impressive  power  of  our  Services,  acknow- 
ledged by  all  who  attend  them.  Believe  me  to 
be,  with  respect  and  gratitude, — Yours  very 
sincerely, 

S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


2i8         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

To  T.   H.  FooRD. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
July  27,  1903. 

My  dear  Mr.  Foord, — Few  men  have  had 
more  practice  in  writing  and  speaking  than  I  in 
my  long  life,  and  I  am  very  rarely  at  a  loss  for 
words  with  which  to  express  my  feelings,  but 
your  generosity  beats  me,  and  having  already 
used  the  language  which  seemed  most  appropriate 
to  my  gratitude,  I  am  quite  unable  to  do  justice 
to  this  new  proof  of  your  munificence.  Happily 
for  me,  the  men  who  do  such  noble  works  are 
not  so  anxious  about  words  as  those  who  rarely 
make  any  sacrifice,  because  they  know  that  their 
benevolence  will  have  the  sympathy  and  admira- 
tion of  those  whom  they  esteem  the  most.  I 
will  therefore  only  say  that  your  offer  of  500  gs. 
towards  the  Organ  Fund,  provided  that  ^1000 
be  raised  by  public  subscription,  is  most  heartily 
appreciated,  and  that  earnest  and  prompt  efforts 
will  be  made  to  collect  the  sum  specified. 

You  have  probably  heard  from  Mr.  Arnold 
that  a  strong  desire  has  been  expressed  by  many 
persons,  including  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  and 
our  most  distinguished  architects,  that  Cotting- 
ham's  Tower,  which  they  regard  as  a  deformity, 
and  out  of  keeping  with  the  rest  of  the  Cathedral, 
should  be  replaced  by  the  old  Norman   structure 


■  h 


"FOORD'S   TOWER"  219 

which  preceded  it,  and  Mr.  A.  has,  I  think,  sent 
you  a  specification  of  the  expense,  ^^4200,  made 
by  our  architect,  when  there  seemed  to  be  a 
probabiHty  that  such  a  change  might  be  made 
by  the  Masonic  brotherhood.  I  was  asked  the 
other  day,  "  Why  should  we  not  have  '  Foord's 
Tower,'  to  commemorate  his  munificence  for 
centuries?"  and  my  answer  was,  "Mr.  Foord 
has  not  expressed  any  wish  to  that  effect,  and 
his  decisions  are  final.  I  have  two  large  fine 
drawings  of  the  Tower  as  it  is,  and  as  it  was 
and  might  be,   if  you  cared  to  see  them. 

There  is  much  to  be  said  pro  and  contra,  pro 
as  a  matter  of  art,  beauty  and  sentiment,  contra 
as  regards  the  expense.  Believe  me  to  be,  with 
much  esteem  and  thankfulness, — Most  sincerely 
yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  A  Lover  of  Gardens. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
August  15,  1903. 

Having  found  in  gardens  and  with  gardeners  a 
chief  happiness  of  my  life  and  many  of  my  dearest 
friends,  and  knowing  the  good  influence  which 
horticulture  has  upon  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men,  I  rejoice  to  hear  of  the  new  society  which 
you  propose  to  form  for  Heywood  and  district,  and 
heartily  wish  you  success.      It  might  be  beneficial 


220    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

to  ask  the  Mayor  to  call  a  meeting,  and  to  appoint 
officers  and  a  committee  ;  the  secretary  should  be 
an  enthusiastic  o'ardener  and  a  grood  man  of  busi- 
ness.  Obtain  the  sympathy  (and  subscriptions)  of 
the  most  influential  neighbours,  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, your  M.P.  and  clergy,  but  at  the  same  time 
do  all  you  can  to  interest  the  cottage  gardeners. 
If  you  can  induce  a  working  man  to  take  some 
pains  with  his  vegetables,  and  teach  his  wife  how 
to  cook  them,  you  will  do  more  to  keep  him  sober 
than  all  the  blue  ribbons  and  pledges  worn  or 
siofned. 


'&' 


A  Birthday  Speech. 
[At  Rochester,  December  5,  1903.] 

I  thank  you  all,  my  dear  friends,  for  your 
presence  here  to-night.  You  have  been  very  kind 
to  drink  my  health.  Although  small,  I  may  claim 
that  our  gathering  is  representative.  The  Church 
is  represented  by  my  dear  friend,  the  energetic 
Rector  of  Chatham.  The  Army  by  my  friend  the 
General,^  whom  I  can  now  call  my  junior,  for 
though  we  were  both  eighty-three  yesterday,  I  am 
eighty-four  to-day.  The  Navy  by  the  daughter  of 
my  old  friend  (whom  I  have  lost  awhile).  Ad- 
miral Kelly  ;  and  the  Law  by  my  son,  who,  I  can 
safely  say,  stands  high  in  his  profession — indeed 
I    think    I    may  say   there   are   few   higher.      The 

^  General  Wentworth  Forbes. 


SOME    REGRETS  221 

next  generation  is  represented  by  my  dear  grand- 
child, Bridget. 

During  the  years  that  are  gone  I  have  seen 
many  changes — some  I  regret,  some  I  admire.  Of 
those  I  regret  are  pigeon-shooting,  barbed  wire, 
Little  Englanders,  motor  cars,  and  ping-pong.  Of 
those  I  admire,  electric  light,  Joe  Chamberlain,  and 
the  XI.  cricketers  now  in  Australia.  I  pray  God 
to  bless  you  all  with  the  same  blessings  with  which 
He  has  blessed  me. 


"  What  triumph  knows  the  great  sun  when 
A  winter  rose  is  born." 

To  George  Mount. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
Christmas  Day,  IQOS- 

My  dear  Friend, —  I  have  received  some  very 
pretty  Christmas  gifts,  books,  pictures,  fruits  and 
flowers,  but  your  bouquet  of  lovely  Roses  far 
excels  them  all !  Grown,  as  you  only  know  how 
to  grow  them,  as  perfectly,  under  glass  and  with 
artificial  heat,  as  tho'  they  had  always  enjoyed 
the  pure  air,  the  gentle  rain,  and  the  warm  sun- 
shine, they  are  "a  sight  to  make  an  old  man 
young "  and  they  have  been  enthusiastically  ad- 
mired by  all  our  guests  and  visitors. 

It  was    most    kind   of  you    to    send    me  a   gift, 


222    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

which  you  knew  would  give  me  such  intense 
pleasure,  and  to  accompany  it  with  such  genial 
and  welcome  words. 

Please  accept  the  heartiest  thanks  of — Yours 
very  sincerely,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

To  George  A.   B.   Dewar. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester,  . 
January  2,  1904. 

I  rejoice  to  be  so  honourably  and  happily  asso- 
ciated with  "The  Garden  Diary."  ^  It  is  a  new 
endearment  of  names,  already  so  dear  to  us,  united 
in  belle  alliance  to  achieve  a  sure  success.  A  little 
book,  but,  like  a  Liebig  lozenge,  containing  a  large 
amount  of  palateable  and  nutritious  food.  The 
prefatory  notices  of  the  months,  their  transforma- 
tions and  surroundings  in  vegetable  and  animal 
type,  are  most  interesting ;  and  there  are  selec- 
tions and  instructions  for  gardeners  by  an  expert, 
and  of  objects,  which  should  have  special  charms 
for  the  naturalist,  in  woods  and  fields,  birds  and 
insects,  whenever  he  goes  abroad.  The  quotations 
from  the  poets  are  both  as  to  aptitude  and  abund- 
ance the  best  I  have  ever  seen,  a  concert  of  sweet 
music. 

And,  in  addition  to  the  sweet  enjoyment  of  the 

*  The  gardening  directions  of  this  little  book  are  those  of  Miss 
Rose  Kingsley,  herself  a  delightful  writer  on  roses. 


FLOWERS   OF   EDEN  223 

book  itself,  its  suggestion  and  provision  for  the 
lover  of  the  beautiful  to  make  his  own  notes,  will, 
if  he  accept  his  opportunity,  bring  a  new  pleasure 
into  his  life.  He  will  write  a  book  of  his  own, 
from  his  own  observation,  which  will  give  him  a 
delightful  retrospect  when  it  is  finished,  and  be  a 
very  helpful  guide  to  the  future. — Most  sincerely 
yours,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  THE  Bishop  of  Rochester. 

The  Deanery,  Rochester, 
May  13,  1904. 

My  very  dear  Bishop  and  Friend, — As  the 
Sun  and  the  Showers  have  clothed  our  Kent 
Orchards  with  garments  of  praise,  and  made  the 
buds  of  our  gardens  to  grow,  so  your  words  of 
warm  and  refreshing  sympathy,  from  the  comfort 
wherewith  you  are  comforted  of  God,  make  my 
faith  glad  with  the  blossoms  of  hope,  and  quicken 
my  prayers  for  those  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  and  those 
flowers  of  Eden,  which  will  be  restored  in  the 
new  heaven  and  the  new  earth,  where  dwelleth 
Righteousness. 

You  say  nothing  of  your  recent  illness,  but  you 
would  feel  sure  of  the  loving  sympathy  of  your 
people,  and  of  their  thankful  joy  in  your  recovery. 
"The  stars  shine  o'er  the  cypress  trees,"  and  the 
brightest    of  all    ever   leads   onward   to  the   Light 


224    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

which  shineth  more  and  more.  The  morning 
Cometh, — tho'  heaviness  has  made  the  nisfht  seem 
very  long,  and  the  enemy  is  gone  and  you  have 
won  the  battle  so  bravely  fought  pro  Christo  et 
Ecclesia. 

Forgive  these  words  so  ill-written  and  expressed. 
I  am  told  to  abstain  awhile  from  correspondence, 
and  when  I  disobey  pen  and  brain  appear  to  be 
unwilling  allies  of —  Your  loving  and  grateful 
subaltern,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 


To  J.  F.  R.  Stainer. 

Ramsgate,  Ap7-il  II,  1904. 

Dear  Mr.  Stainer, — It  is  most  kind  of  you  to 
send  to  me  the  corrected  sheet  to  be  inserted  in  the 
copy — which  I  prize  so  dearly — of  your  father's 
music.  The  memory  of  our  friendship  is  always 
treasured  by  me  with  affectionate  admiration,  and 
esteemed  very  highly  ...  for  his  work's  sake.  It 
was  delightful  to  welcome  your  dear  mother  at 
Rochester  and  to  enjoy  reminiscences  of  mutual 
friends  and  the  beautiful  old  city  ^  we  love  so  well. — 
Yours  very  sincerely,  S.  Reynolds  Hole. 

Sir  John  Stainer  set  to  music  Dean  Hole's  hymn, 
"Sons  of  Labour."  "Sons  of  Labour" — one  of  the 
"Ancient   and   Modern    Hymns" — was  inchided  in  Sir 

^  Oxford. 


SONS   OF   LABOUR  225 

John  Stainer's  collection.  In  1899  he  wrote  from  Oxford 
to  Dean  Hole  :  "  Will  you  let  me  print  the  words  of 
'  Sons  of  Labour '  ?  But  have  you  got  any  more  which 
you  could  let  me  try  to  set  ?  I  should  like  to  have  one 
or  two,  or  as  many  as  possible,  of  your  hymns  in  my 
little  book,  not  only  because  of  their  poetic  beauty,  but 
because  I  feel  attracted  and  grateful  to  you  for  long 
friendship  and  kindness  to  those  dear  to  me."  Again  in 
1900  :  "  I  am  really  very  much  pleased  to  hear  of  the 
substantial  sum  which  your  beautiful  hymn  has  gained 
for  the  War  Fund.  I  assure  you  I  am  very  humble 
about  my  efforts  as  a  composer,  and  I  am  grateful  to 
you  for  giving  me  the  opportunity  of  joining  you  in 
such  a  good  work."  This  hymn,  "  Father,  Forgive," 
was  also  set  to  music  by  Dr.  Stainer.  Messrs.  Novello 
sold  between  twenty-eight  and  twenty-nine  thousand 
copies,  which  realised  nearly  a  hundred  pounds  for  the 
Transvaal  War  Fund. 


SONS  OF  LABOUR. 

Sons  of  Labour,  dear  to  Jesus, 

To  your  homes  and  work  again  ; 
Go  with  brave  hearts  back  to  duty, 

Face  the  peril,  bear  the  pain. 
Be  your  dwellings  mean  and  lowly, 

Yet  remember,  by  your  bed. 
That  the  Son  of  God  most  Holy 

Had  not  where  to  lay  His  head. 

Sons  of  Labour,  think  of  Jesus, 

As  you  rest  your  homes  within, 
Of  that  sweet  Babe,  born  of  Mary, 

In  the  stable  of  the  Inn. 
Think  upon  the  sacred  story, 

Christ  arose  from  humble  grade, 
And  the  Lord  of  Life  and  Glory 

Worked  with  Joseph  at  his  trade. 


226         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN   HOLE 

Sons  of  Labour,  pray  to  Jesus, 

Oh,  how  Jesus  prayed  for  you  ! 
In  the  moonhght,  on  the  mountain. 

Where  the  shimmering  olives  grew. 
When  you  rise  up  at  the  dawning, 

Ere  to  toil  you  wend  your  way. 
Pray,  as  He  prayed,  in  the  morning. 

Long  before  the  break  of  day. 

Sons  of  Labour,  be  like  Jesus, 

UndefilM,  chaste,  and  pure; 
And,  though  Satan  tempt  you  sorely, 

By  His  grace  you  shall  endure. 
Husband,  father,  son,  and  brother. 

Be  ye  gentle,  just,  and  true, — 
Be  ye  kind  to  one  another, 

As  the  Lord  is  kind  to  you. 

Sons  of  Labour,  seek  for  Jesus, 

Where  He  tells  you  ye  shall  find. 
In  the  children,  mid  the  mourners, 

In  the  sick,  poor,  lame,  and  blind, — 
"  Search  the  Scriptures,"  He  entreats  you, 

"  For  of  Me  they  testify  ; " 
Love  His  Altar,  where  He  meets  you, 

Saying,  "  Fear  not — It  is  I." 

Sons  of  Labour,  go  to  Jesus, 

In  your  sorrow,  shame,  and  loss, 
He  is  nearest,  you  are  dearest. 

When  you  bravely  bear  His  Cross. 
Go  to  Him,  Who  died  to  save  youj 

And  is  still  the  sinner's  friend  ; 
And  the  great  love,  which  forgave  you 

Will  forgive  you  to  the  end. 

Sons  of  Labour,  live  for  Jesus, 

Be  your  work  your  worship  too  ; 
In  His  Name,  and  to  His  glory, 

Do  whate'er  you  find  to  do. 
Till  this  night  of  sin  and  sorrow 

Be  for  ever  overpast  ; 
And  we  see  the  golden  morrow. 

Safe  with  Jesus,  home  at  last  ! 


* 


THE    LAST   WEEKS  227 

The  letter  to  Mr.  Stainer  was  one  of  the  last  Dean 
Hole  wrote.  He  died  a  few  months  later.  One  who, 
with  Mrs.  Hole,  was  then  constantly  near  him  writes 
that  his  failure  was  very  gradual,  at  first  hardly  to  be 
noticed,  and  the  end  quiet  and  without  pain.  "  It  was 
many  months  before  his  death  that  he  asked  Mrs.  Hole 
to  find  for  him  the  words,  *  God  is  the  Lord,  by  whom 
we  escape  death  ; '  telling  her  it  was  his  special  wish  that 
this  should  be  his  epitaph.  On  Whitsunday  1904  he 
reminded  her  of  this  wish,  and  made  us  find  and  show 
him  the  text  which  is  in  the  Psalm  for  the  day. 

"  He  had  not  been  in  the  cathedral  for  some  time,  as 
he  could  not  walk  up  the  steps  leading  to  the  choir. 
His  increasing  breathlessness  made  it  hard  for  him 
even  to  walk  on  the  level.  He  was  asked  whether  he 
would  like  to  receive  the  Holy  Communion  privately 
on  Whitmonday.  At  first  he  thought  he  would  wait 
till  Trinity  Sunday,  when  he  had  every  hope  of  being 
able  to  go  to  the  cathedral ;  but  feeling  less  well  in  the 
evening,  he  asked  the  Archdeacon  to  hold  the  service 
in  his  room.  We  shall  none  of  us  ever  forget  that 
wonderfully  touching  service  ;  the  little  altar  with  its 
Niphetos  roses  from  his  own  garden,  the  Dean  sitting 
in  his  big  armchair  at  the  head  of  the  table  with  Mrs. 
Hole,  Canon  Pollock,  the  housekeeper  who  had  been 
in  the  Dean's  service  so  many  years,  and  myself,  kneeling 
round.  At  the  close  of  the  service,  he  called  Canon 
Pollock  and  gave  him  his  blessing,  and  then  beckoned 
for  me  also.  That  afternoon  he  was  so  much  worse 
that  he  was  not  expected  to  live  many  days.  Yet  he 
rallied  and  lived  till  August.  But  somehow  it  was  never 
quite  the  same  again,  it  seemed  he  had  been  given  a 
respite  and  knew  it  was  a  very  short  one. 

"  Those  last  weeks  he  lived  in  his  garden,  and  never  was 
there  a  more  lovely  summer,  nor  had  his  flowers  been 
seen  in  greater  beauty.    He  seemed  now  just  to  be  waiting 


228    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

in  patient  hope  for  the  end.  His  great  joy  was  to  see 
the  new  Tower  of  Rochester  Cathedral  rising  gradually, 
and  he  would  say,  *  I  thank  God  for  letting  me  see  this 
work  begun,  even  though  it  may  not  be  His  will  that 
I  should  see  it  completed.'  He  just  lived  to  see  the 
whole  outline  of  the  new  Tower,  so  that  he  could  picture 
to  himself  how  it  would  look  when  finished.  Before 
Whitsuntide  he  had  talked  so  hopefully  of  being  present 
at  its  consecration,  and  rejoiced  so  much  when  he  knew 
that  the  Archbishop  had  promised  to  come  to  Rochester 
to  take  the  chief  part  in  the  service  ;  he  had  seen  the 
lists  of  guests,  and  had  interested  himself  in  every  detail. 
But  now,  though  his  interest  was  just  as  great,  it  was 
as  if  he  knew  that,  like  Moses,  he  might  only  view  the 
fulfilment  of  his  desire  from  afar,  that  he  should  behold 
but  not  possess  it." 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX    A 

THE    DEAN'S    SELECTION    OF    THE    BEST 
ROSES    FOR    ALL    GARDENS   ' 

Hybrid  Perpetuals. — Alfred  Colomb,  A.  K.  Williams, 
Baroness  Rothschild,  Captain  Hayward,  Charles 
Lef^bvre,  Clio,  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  Dupuy  Jamain, 
General  Jacqueminot,  Madame  Gabriel  Luizet,  Marie 
Baumann,  Merveille  de  Lyon,  Mrs.  John  Laing,  Mrs, 
Sharman-Crawford,  Prince  Arthur,  Madame  Victor 
Verdier,  Suzanne  M.  Rodocanachi,  Ulrich  Brunner. 

Hybrid  Teas.  —  Augustine  Guinoisseau,  Caroline 
Testout,  Gustave  Regis,  Kaiserin  A.  Victoria,  Killarney, 
La  France,  Mrs.  W.  J.  Grant,  Papa  Gontier,  Viscountess 
Folkestone. 

Teas. — Anna  Olivier,  Catherine  Mermet,G.  Nabonnand, 
Gloire  de  Dijon  (for  wall),  Madame  Hoste,  Madame 
Lambard,  Maman  Cochet,  Marechal  Niel  (for  wall), 
Marie  Van  Houtte,  Rubens,  Souvenir  d'un  Ami,  Souvenir 
de  S.  A.  Prince,  The  Bride,  White  Maman  Cochet, 
W.  A.  Richardson  (for  wall). 

China  Roses.  —  Common  China,  Crimson  China, 
Laurette  Messimy,  Madame  Eugene  Resal. 

Polyantha  Roses. — Cecile  Brunner,  Perle  d'Or. 


APPENDIX    B 

ROSES    IN    THE    DEANERY    GARDEN    AT 
ROCHESTER    IN    1903 


THE   DEAN  S   LIST 


Alfred  Colomb. 
Alfred  Williams. 
Amadis. 
Alice  Lindsell. 
Anna  Olivier. 
Augustine  Guinoisseau. 
Austrian  Yellow. 

B 
Bardou  Job. 
Baroness  Rothschild. 
Belle  Lyonnaise. 
Belle  Siebricht. 
Ben  Cant. 
Bessie  Brown. 
Blairii  2. 
Bouquet  d'Or. 
Bride,  The. 

C 

Camoens. 
Captain  Christy. 
Captain  Hayward. 


Carmine  Pillar. 
Caroline  Testout. 
Catherine  Mermet. 
Cecile  Brunner. 
Celeni  Forestier. 
Charles  Lawson, 
Charles  Lefebvre. 
Climbing  C.  Christy. 
Climbing    Kaiserin 

Victoria 
Climbing  Mrs.  Grant. 
Cimbing  Perle  des  Jardins. 
Clio. 

Common  Moss. 
Common  Sweet  Briar. 
Common  China. 
Conrad  F.  Meyer. 
Crimson  China. 
Crimson  Rambler. 

D 

Dorothy  Perkins. 
Duchess  of  Portland. 


ROSES   IN    DEANERY   GARDEN  233 

K 
Kaiserin  Augusta  Victoria. 


Due  de  Luxembourg 
Duke  of  Edinburgh. 
Dupuy  Jamain. 


E 
Etienne  Levet. 


F^licite  Perp^tue. 
Fisher  Holmes. 
Flora  M'lvor. 
Francois  Croupe. 
Frau  Paul  Druscki. 


General  Jacqueminot. 
George  Pernet. 
G.  Nabonnand. 
Gladys  Harkness. 
Gloire  de  Dijon. 
Gloire  Lyonnaise. 
Grace  Darling. 
Griiss  an  Teplitz. 
Gustave  Regis. 

H 

Her  Majesty. 
Honble.  Edith  Gif¥ord. 


Innocente  Pirola. 
Irish  Beauty. 

J 

Jeannie  Deans. 


Killarney. 


Lady  Bathence. 

Lady  Moyse  Beauclerc. 

Lady  Penzance. 

La  France. 

La  Tosca. 

Laurette  Messimy. 

Liberty. 

L'Ideal. 

Lord  Penzance. 

Longworth  Rambler. 

Louis  Van  Houtte. 

M 

Madame  Abel  Chatenay. 
Madame  Alfred  Carriere. 
Madame  Berard. 
Madame   Chedane   Gui- 

noisseau. 
Madame  de  Watteville. 
Madame  Eugene  Resal. 
Madame  Gabriel  Luizet. 
Madame  Hoste. 
Madame  Jules  Grolez. 
Madame  Lambard. 
Madame  Isaac  Percine. 
Madame  Pernet  Ducher. 
Madame  Ravany. 
Madame  Victor  Verdier. 
Maman  Cochet. 
Marechal  Niel. 


THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 


234 

Marguerite  Dickson. 
Marie  Baumann. 
Marie  Van  Houtte. 
Marquise  de  Salisbury. 
Marquise  Litta. 
Merveille  de  Lyon. 
Mildred  Grant. 
Mrs.  Bosanquet. 
Mrs.  B.  R.  Cant. 
Mrs.  John  Laing. 
Mrs.  Reynolds  Hole. 
Mrs.  Sharman-Crawford 
Mrs.  W.  J.  Grant. 


N 


Niphetos. 


Papa  Gontier. 
Papa  Lambert. 
Paul  Lergon. 
Perle  d'Or. 
Perle  des  Jardins. 
Perle  des  Rouges. 
Persian  Yellow. 
Prince  Arthur. 


Queen  Alexandra. 


R 
Rev.  Alan  Hicks. 
Reve  d'Or. 
Reynolds  Hole. 
Reine  Marie  Henriette. 
Rosa  Lucida. 
Rosa  Macrantha. 
Rosa  Mundi. 
Rosa  Linica. 
Rubens. 


Senator  Varpe. 

Soleil  d'Or. 

Souvenir   de   Catherine 

Guillot. 
Souvenir    de    Pierre 

Netting. 
Sunrise. 
Suzanne  M.  Rodocanachi. 

U 
Ulrich  Brunner. 

V 

Village  Maid. 
Vicountess  Folkestone. 

W 
White  Maman  Cochet. 
William  Allan  Richardson. 


APPENDIX  C 
"THE  VULGAR  TONGUE" 

This  was  a  lecture  which  Hole  delivered  for  charity  in  many  Mid- 
land towns  during  the  'seventies  and  'eighties.  It  was  very  successful. 
Portions  of  it  only  are  given  here. 

First,  of  abuses.  I  protest  against  those  sensational 
adjectives,  which  are  so  commonly  misapplied — against 
the  union  of  grand  and  noble  words  with  subjects  of  a 
minute  and  trivial  nature.  It  is  as  though  a  huge  loco- 
motive engine  were  brought  out  to  draw  a  child's 
perambulator,  or  as  though  an  Armstrong  gun  were 
loaded  and  levelled  to  exterminate  a  tom-tit. 

I  heard  a  tourist  say  the  other  day,  that  when  he  was 
at  Black  Gang  Chine,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  he  had  seen 
the  most  magnificent — what  do  you  think  ?  A  sunset,  a 
man-of-war,  a  thunderstorm  ?  Nothing  of  the  kind. 
He  had  seen  the  most  magnificent  prawns  he  ever  ate  in 
his  life. 

And  when  I  asked  another  young  gentleman,  who  was 
speaking  of  "  the  most  tremendous  screw  ever  made  in  the 
world,"  to  which  of  our  great  ironclads  he  referred,  he 
smiled  upon  me  with  a  benign  and  courteous  pity,  as  he 
said  that  he  "was  alluding  to  a  screw  into  the  middle 
pocket,  which  he  had  recently  seen  during  a  game  at 
billiards  between  Cook  and  the  younger  Roberts." 

When  you  hear  one  young  lady  informing  another 
that  she  has  just  seen  simply  the  most  exquisite,  the 
most  lovely,  the  most  perfect  thing  in  existence,  is  she 


236         THE   LETTERS    OF    DEAN    HOLE 

referring  to  something  wonderful  in  nature,  or  to  some- 
thing beautiful  in  art,  or  can  it  only  be  a  bonnet  ?  Has 
she  just  come  home  from  the  glaciers  of  Switzerland, 
the  lakes  of  Italy,  the  mountains  of  Connemara,  or  the 
castles  of  the  Rhine,  or  can  it  be  that  she  has  been  no 
farther  than  Marshall  and  Snelgrove*s  shop  ? 

Then  there's  that  aweful  ^' aweful! '''  Why — if  a 
thousandth  part  of  the  things  which  are  commonly 
affirmed  to  be  aweful  were  aweful,  we  should  go  about 
with  our  faces  blanched,  like  his  who  drew  Priam's 
curtain  in  the  dead  of  night,  our  teeth  chattering,  and 
our  hair  on  end.  Everything  is  aweful — awefully  good 
or  awefully  bad. 

Only  last  week,  I  handed  a  plate  to  a  young  lady,  at 
luncheon,  and,  looking  sweetly  upon  me,  as  though  I 
had  brought  a  reprieve  from  the  gallows,  she  sighed, 
"  Oh  thanks  !  how  awefully  kind  !  " 

And  years  ago,  I  went  with  John  Leech  to  admire 
Robson,  in  "  The  Porter's  Knot,"  and  when  that  pathetic 
little  drama  was  over,  and  the  actor  had  stirred  our  souls 
with  pity,  an  undergraduate,  in  the  stalls  before  us, 
turned  to  his  companion,  as  the  curtain  fell,  and  said, 
tremulously,  with  an  emotion  which  did  him  honour, 
although  his  diction  was  queer — ^*  Awefully  Jolly  !  awe- 
fully Jolly  !  " 

Yes,  it  amuses,  but  it  pains  us  more,  this  reckless 
abuse  and  confusion  of  words,  because  it  tends  to  lower 
the  dignity  and  to  pervert  the  meaning  of  our  language  : 
it  dishonours  the  best  member  that  we  have.  If  we  use 
the  most  startling  and  impressive  words  which  we  can 
find,  when  we  do  not  really  require  them,  when  the 
crisis  comes  in  which  they  are  appropriate,  they  seem 
feeble  and  commonplace.  We  are  as  persons  who, 
wearing  their  best  clothes  daily,  are  but  dingy  guests  at 
a  feast. 


"THE   VULGAR  TONGUE"  237 

Then  comes  retribution.  They  who  cry  "Wolf" 
whenever  they  see  a  leveret,  are  not  believed  when 
Lupus  comes.  They  who  suffer  "  excruciating  agony  " 
whenever  a  thorn  pricks,  can  say  no  more  under  ex- 
quisite pain,  and  their  familiar  words  are  powerless  to 
evoke  the  sympathy  which  they  have  repelled  so  long. 
They  are  more  likely  to  receive  the  severe  rebuke  ad- 
ministered by  a  gruff  old  gentleman  to  his  maudlin 
moribund  neighbour,  who  was  ever  exaggerating  his 
ailments,  and  who,  upon  his  doleful  declaration,  that 
"between  three  and  four  o'clock  that  morning  he  had 
been  at  Death's  Door !  "  was  abruptly  but  anxiously 
asked — "  Oh,  why  didn't  you  go  in?" 

I  protest,  in  the  next  place,  against  the  use  of  long 
large  words  for  the  gratification  of  that  conceit  or 
covetousness,  which  seeks  to  obtain  from  mere  grand- 
iloquence, reputations,  and  rewards,  to  which  it  is  not 
entitled.  Being  a  gardener,  I  like  to  call  a  spade  as 
spelt ;  and  if  any  one  terms  it  a  horticultural  imple- 
ment, or  a  mattock,  I  do  not  expect  him  to  dig 
much.  I  have  used  the  monosyllable  shop,  and  I  will  not 
recall  it,  though  a  thousand  pairs  of  gleaming  scissors 
were  pointed  at  my  breast,  and  I  was  told  by  an  angry 
army  of  apprentices  to  talk  shop  no  more — the  word 
was  vulgar,  or  rather  obsolete,  superseded  by  the  more 
graceful  terms  of  mart,  emporium,  warehouse,  reposi- 
tory, bazaar,  and  lounge. 

Plain  folk,  who  sold  drugs,  when  I  was  a  boy,  were 
not  ashamed  to  be  called  druggists,  but  now  they  are 
pharmaceutical  chymists,  and  analytical  homoeopathists; 
and  one  is  tempted  to  quote  Canning's  paraphrase, 
which  he  made,  when  Dr.  Addington  had  been  compli- 
menting the  country  party,  "  I  do  remember  an  apothe- 
cary, gulling  of  simples."  Persons  who  cut  hair  were 
known  as  hair-cutters,  and  they  who  attended  to  the 


238         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

feet  were  called  corn-cutters ;  but  now  the  former  are 
artists  in  hair,  and  the  latter  are  chiropodists. 

No  long  time  ago,  I  consulted  with  an  intelligent 
tradesman  as  to  the  best  way  of  protecting  from  frost  a 
long  line  of  standard  rose  trees,  growing  near  a  wall  in 
my  garden,  and  shortly  afterwards  I  received  from  him 
the  drawing  of  a  clever  design,  with  a  letter  informing 
me  that  he  had  now  the  pleasure  of  submitting  to  my 
inspection  his  idea  of  a  Cheimoboethus.  When  I  rallied 
from  my  swoon,  and  was  staggering  towards  my  lexicon, 
I  remembered  that,  as  ;^e/./iG)j/  was  the  Greek  for  winter, 
and  ^or]6o<i  for  a  friend  in  need,  the  word  was  not  with- 
out appropriate  meaning ;  but  I  never  took  heart  to 
order  the  invention,  because  I  felt  convinced,  that  if  I 
were  to  inform  my  gardener  that  we  were  going  to  have 
a  Cheimoboethus,  he  would  say  that  he  would  rather 
leave. 

A  bird-stuffer  is  now  a  plumassier  and  taxidermist ; 
and  when  I  asked  a  waiter  the  meaning  of  "  Phusitech- 
nicon,"  which  I  read  over  a  shop  opposite  his  hotel,  he 
told  me  it  meant  old  china.  And  he  bowed  respectfully, 
as  one  who  knew  how  to  treat  a  great  scholar,  when  he 
met  him,  as  I  remarked  gravely,  "Ah  yes,  I  see:  no 
doubt  from  phusi — the  ancients,  and  technicon — cups 
and  saucers." 

Nor  can  I  leave  these  long  Greek  words  without 
noticing  another  objectionable  abuse  of  them,  whereby, 
upon  the  principle  that  "what  in  the  captain's  but  a 
choleric  word,  is  in  the  soldier  flat  blasphemy,"  a  dis- 
tinction is  made  between  vice  in  the  rich  and  vice  in  the 
poor,  and  that  which  in  the  latter  is  obstinate  depravity, 
to  be  handled  only  by  the  police,  becomes  in  the  former 
a  pitiable  weakness,  or  an  irresistible  impulse,  to  be 
gently  nursed  by  the  physician.  If  a  poor  man  steals, 
he  is  a  desperate  thief,  but  if  a  rich  man  fancies  that 


"THE   VULGAR   TONGUE"  239 

which  does  not  belong  to  him  he  is  a  Kleptomaniac, 
and  "  the  spoons  will  be  returned."  If  a  poor  man  is 
addicted  to  alcohol,  he  is  a  drunken  sot  ;  but  if  a  rich 
man  is  oft  intoxicated,  he  is  afflicted  with  Dipsomania  ! 
Interesting  patient  !  I  should  like  to  prescribe  for  him. 
I  feel  sure  I  could  do  him  good  with  my  medicines — the 
crank  and  water-gruel ! 

Leaving  him  at  it,  I  pass  on  to  another  mania,  which 
rather  provokes  amusement  than  anger — the  mania  to 
be  called  "Esquire."  Forty  years  ago,  the  title  was 
restricted  to  those  who  carried  arms.  The  armiger,  no 
longer  toiling  after  his  knight  with  heavy  helmet  and 
shield,  bore  his  own  arms,  as  he  drove  along,  proudly 
and  pleasantly  upon  his  carriage  door.  People  who 
became  rich,  and  found  themselves  shut  out  from 
"genteel  society,"  because  they  had  only  letters  upon 
their  spoons,  instead  of  birds  and  beasts,  arms  with 
daggers,  and  legs  with  spurs,  were  delighted  to  discover, 
on  application  at  the  Heralds'  Office,  that  one  of  their 
ancestors  had  undoubtedly  exercised  the  functions  of  a 
groom  in  the  establishment  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
and  that  they  were  consequently  entitled  to  bear  upon 
their  arms  a  stable-bucket  azure,  between  two  horses 
current,  and  to  wear  as  their  crest  a  curry-comb  in  base 
argent,  between  two  wisps  of  hay  proper,  they  and  their 
descendants,  according  to  the  law  of  arms.  But  the 
luxury  was  expensive,  a  lump  sum  to  the  Heralds,  and 
two  pound  two  to  the  King's  Taxes ;  and  so,  as  time 
went  on,  men  of  large  ambition,  but  of  limited  means, 
began  to  crave  for  some  more  economical  process  by 
which  they  might  become  Esquires.  They  met  together, 
and  they  solved  the  difficulty.  They  conferred  the  title 
upon  each  other,  and  they  charged  no  fee.  And  now 
the  postal  authorities  will  tell  you  that  the  number  of 
"  esquires,"  not  carrying  arms,  not  having  so  much  as  a 


240         THE   LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

leg  to  stand  on  (in  the  matter  of  legal  claims),  is  some- 
thing "awful!"  But  the  process  is  so  charmingly 
cheap  and  easy,  that  we  may  expect  a  further  develop- 
ment. Why  should  we  not  all  be  Baronets  ?  Why 
should  we  not  raise  ourselves,  every  man  of  us,  on  his 
own  private  hoist,  to  the  Peerage  ? 

We  have  all  been  ladies  and  gentlemen  so  long,  that 
a  little  nobility,  with  its  attendant  titles,  cannot  fail  to 
make  a  pleasant  change.  Bessie  Black,  who  cleans  the 
fire-irons,  has,  for  some  years,  been  Miss  Cinderella, 
with  a  chignon  and  a  lover  on  Sundays ;  and  Bill,  who 
weeds  in  the  garden,  is  Mr.  Groundsell  with  a  betting- 
book  and  a  bad  cigar.  A  quotation  from  the  newspapers 
will  exemplify  the  comprehensiveness  of  those  terms 
"  ladies  and  gentlemen,"  which  had  once  such  definite 
and  narrow  restrictions.  A  witness,  giving  evidence  at 
a  trial,  says,  "  When  I  see  that  gentleman  in  the  hand- 
cuffs a-shinning  and  a-punching  that  lady  with  the  black 
eye,  I  says  to  my  missus,  'Them's  ways,'  I  says,  'as  I 
don't  hold  to ; '  and  she  makes  answer  to  me,  '  You 
better  hadn't.' " 

Let  me  not  be  misunderstood  to  mean  that  none  are 
ladies  and  gentlemen  who  do  not  eat  with  silver  forks, 
or  that  all  persons  who  go  about  in  carriages  deserve 
those  gracious  names.  I  have  met  with  persons  calling 
themselves  gentlemen,  who  evidently  thought  it  manly 
and  high-spirited  to  swear  at  their  servants,  and  who 
were  incapable  of  appreciating  any  anecdote  which  was 
not  profane  or  coarse  ;  and  I  have  met,  as  all  who  go 
amongst  the  poor  have  met,  men  who  well  deserved  that 
noble  epithet  in  cottages  and  corduroy.  Who  has  not 
seen  illustrious  snobs  in  satin,  and  sweet,  modest,  gentle- 
women in  homely  print  and  serge  ?  A  gentleman  ! 
There's  no  title  shouted  at  a  reception  so  grand  in  my 
idea  as  this ;  and  yet,  methinks,  that  any  man  may  win 


"THE   VULGAR  TONGUE"  241 

and  wear  it  who  is  brave,  and  truthful,  and  generous, 
and  pure,  and  kind — who  is,  in  one  word,  a  Christian  ! 

Some  people  think  to  make  themselves  gentlemen  by 
tampering  with  their  patronymics,  and  by  altering  their 
family  name.  Brown  has  added  an  e  to  his  ;  and  greedy 
Green,  though  he  had  two  already,  has  followed  his 
example ;  and  White  spells  his  with  ajj/;  and  Bob  Smith 
calls  his  son  and  heir  Augustus  Charlemagne  Sacheverel 
Smythe ;  and  Tailor  calls  himself  Tayleure.  And  one 
day  Tailor  went  out  a-hunting,  and  he  worried  a  whipper- 
in,  who  had  plenty  of  work  on  his  hands,  with  a  series 
of  silly  questions,  until,  upon  his  asking  the  name  of  a 
hound,  he  received  an  answer  which  put  an  end  to  the 
discourse — "Well,  sir,"  said  the  Whip,  "we  used  to  call 
him  Towler ;  but  things  has  got  so  fine  and  fashionable, 
we  calls  him  Tow-lciire." 

Passing  from  abuse  to  disuse,  I  would  now  refer  to 
words  which  are  gradually  becoming  obsolete,  but 
which  some  of  us,  partly  from  admiration  of  the  words 
themselves,  and  partly  from  old  associations,  would  not 
willingly  let  die.  Beginning  alphabetically,  the  adjective 
Ask  is  one  of  those  grand  old  English  monosyllables 
which  convey  the  sense  in  the  sound.  It  speaks  to  you 
of  a  day  in  March,  when  the  wind  is  in  the  east,  and  all 
the  clouds  are  of  a  dull  slate  colour,  and  the  roads  are 
white,  and  the  hedges  black,  and  the  fallows  are  dry 
and  hard  as  bricks,  and  a  bitter,  searching,  piercing 
wind  whistles  contemptuously  at  your  sealskins  and 
Ulsters,  your  Lindseys  and  Jerseys,  your  foot-warmers 
and  muffatees,  and  you  feel,  with  Miggs,  "as  though 
water  were  flowing  aperiently  down  your  back,"  and  sit 
shuddering — dithering  (there's  another  word  rarely  used, 
but  with  a  sufficient  amount  of  chilliness  in  it  to  ice  a 
bottle  of  champagne)  "  dithering  in  that  ask,  ungenial 
day." 

Q 


242    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

Then  I  like  abear  (the  penultimate  a  pronounced  as  e) 
— "  I  can't  abeer  him  ;  "  addled — "  Bill's  addled  noat  a 
three  week  ;  "  agate — "  I  see  you've  got  agate  on't ;  " 
among-hands — "  Tom  schemed  to  do  it  among-hands  ;  " 
all  along  of— ^^  It  was  all  along  of  them  'osses,"  &c. 

Of  B's  there  is  a  swarm,  beleddy  (a  corruption,  as 
most  men  know,  of  "by  our  lady"),  and  I  can  only 
notice  a  few  of  the  Queens.  Botch  is  a  word  which, 
though  found  in  Shakspere  and  Dryden,  and  other 
authors,  is  rarely  used  by  us ;  and  yet,  methinks,  in 
these  days,  when  the  great  object  seems  to  be  to  get 
quantity  in  place  of  quality,  and  to  make  as  much  dis- 
play as  we  can  at  the  price — when  so  much  is  done  by 
contract,  and  there  is,  in  consequence,  strong  tempta- 
tion to  daub  with  untempered  mortar,  to  use  green 
timber,  to  put  in  bad  material  where  it  will  not  be  seen, 
the  verb  to  botch  is  only  too  appropriate  to  all  such 
scampish  proceedings. 

And  what  do  you  think  of  Bofen-yed?  I  once  heard 
a  farmer,  shouting  from  his  garden  fence,  with  the 
vocal  powers  of  a  Boanerges,  to  a  labourer  at  work 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away,  "  Yer  gret  bofen-yed, 
can  ter  ear  noat  ?  "  (Anglic^,  "  You  ox-headed  lout,  are 
you  stone  deaf  ? ")  ;  and  more  frequently  the  terms, 
puddmg-yed  and  noggen-yed  have  been  addressed  in  my 
hearing  to  obtuse  and  stupid  folk.  The  former  requires 
no  comment,  and  an  explanation  of  the  latter — noggen, 
hard,  rough,  coarse — may  be  found  in  Johnson.  "  Nay, 
/  did  na  say  thee  wor  a  noggen-yed  ;  I  said,  Lawyer 
said  thee  wor  a  noggen-yed,"  was  a  poor  apology,  once 
spoken  in  Lancashire.  And  there,  also,  in  time-honoured 
Lancaster,  was  made  the  followmg  illustrative  speech  : 
A  conceited  young  barrister,  with  a  nez  retrousse  and  a 
new  wig,  had  been  bullying  for  some  time  a  rough, 
honest,  Lancashire  lad,  who  was  giving  evidence  in  a 


"THE   VULGAR  TONGUE"  243 

trial,  and  at  last  the  lawyer,  thinking  that  he  saw  his 
opportunity,  turned  sharply  upon  the  witness  and  said, 
"  Why,  fellow,  only  a  short  time  ago  you  stated  so  and 
so."  To  which  came  the  indignant  answer,  "Why, 
yer  powder-yedded  monkey,  I  never  said  noat  o'  sort ; 
I  appeal  to  th'  company  !  " 

I  have  a  loving  faith  in  children.  Mixing  with  them 
daily — in  church,  in  school,  and  at  their  play — I  think 
that  I  know  something  about  them ;  and  I  maintain 
that  a  disagreeable  child  is  a  sorrowful  exception  to 
the  rule,  and  the  result  of  mismanagement  and  foolish 
indulgence  On  the  part  of  parents  and  teachers.  But 
when  this  abnormal  nuisance  is  found,  a  peevish,  fretful 
child — a  child  who  is  always  wanting  to  taste — a  child 
who  ignores  the  admirable  purposes  for  which  pocket- 
handkerchiefs  were  designed,  such  an  enfant  terrible, 
as  he  who  told  the  kindly  mother,  offering  to  bring  her 
'Gustus  to  join  him  in  his  play,  that  "  if  you  bring  your 
'Gustus  here  I  shall  make  a  slit  in  him  with  my  new 
knife,  and  let  out  all  his  sawdust" — when,  I  repeat,  we 
come  in  contact  with  such  an  obnoxious  precocity  as 
this,  what  word  can  describe  him  so  satisfactorily  as 
the  monosyllable — Brat? 

More  detestable,  because  more  powerful  to  do  hurt, 
and  with  less  excuse  for  doing  it,  is  the  Blab;  the 
unctuous,  tattling  Blab,  who  creeps  to  your  side  with 
words  softer  than  butter,  but  having  war  in  his  heart ; 
"  he  always  thought  that  Sam  Smith  was  such  a  friend 
of  yours,  and"  (hardly  waiting  for  your  "so  he  is") 
"  was  surprised  and  rather  disgusted  by  his  remarks  at 
the  Club  last  Thursday."  And  then  he  tells  you  some- 
thing which,  for  a  moment,  and  until  principle  prevails 
over  passion,  suggests  the  removal  by  violence  of  several 
of  Sam's  teeth,  and  he  leaves  you  distressed  and  dis- 
trustful, until  you  discover,  as  you  most  probably  will, 


244    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

that  there  has  been  cruel  misrepresentation.  Ah,  if 
poor  Jeannette's  desire  were  realised,  and  they  who 
make  the  quarrels  were  the  only  men  to  fight,  how  nice 
it  would  be  to  sit  upon  an  eminence  and  watch  the 
Battle  of  the  Blabs  ! 

There  was  a  battle  once  on  a  small  scale,  the  only 
rational  duel  ever  fought,  in  which  a  brace  of  Blabs 
were  sweetly  discomfited.  They  had  succeeded  in 
separating  "very  friends,"  and  had  arranged  a  hostile 
meeting ;  but,  through  the  intervention  of  better  men, 
and  without  their  cognisance,  the  principals  entered 
into  explanations,  and,  finding  that  they  had  been  mis- 
led, mutually  agreed  to  fire  at  the  seconds,  who  had 
made  the  mischief.  One  Blab  received  a  bullet  in  the 
calf  of  his  leg,  and  the  other  heard  a  ping  close  to  his 
whiskers  ;  and  then  the  combatants  said  that  their 
honour  was  satisfied,  and  the  party  broke  up. 

Some  years  ago  there  lived  in  our  village  an  individual, 
who  was  known  to  us  as  Brawnging  Bill.  Does  not  the 
epithet  describe  the  man  ?  As  you  pronounce  it,  does  not 
William's  photograph  present  itself  to  your  mental  eye. 
A  large,  obese,  idle  hulk  of  a  man  (fine  old  Saxon  word 
that  hulc  !)  lounging  about  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets, 
and  a  pipe  in  his  mouth  ;  a  man  who  talks  at  the  top  of 
his  voice,  and  laughs  the  loud  laugh,  which  tells  the 
vacant  mind,  and  lies  with  such  volubility,  that  you 
would  think  Truth  was  a  fool.  Eloquent,  didactic,  im- 
perious was  he,  in  the  taproom  and  by  the  blacksmith's 
forge,  in  the  quoit-yard  and  in  the  alley  of  skittles,  and 
yet,  whenever  his  tongue  led  him  into  trouble,  and  there 
was  whisper  of  peril  to  that  fat  form  of  his,  at  the  first 
utterance  of  a  threat,  the  first  sign  of  aggressive  anger, 
there  was  a  dissolving  view  of  our  Brawnging  Bill. 

From  B.  to  C. — Whenever  the  fairer  sex  enter  Parlia- 
ment  (breathes  there  a  man  with  ears  so  deaf  as  to 


"THE   VULGAR   TONGUE"  245 

doubt  their  powers  of  parlance  ?)  and  we  have  a  House 
of  Ladies  as  well  as  a  House  of  Lords,  I  anticipate  that 
among  the  first  measures  introduced  will  be  a  Coercive 
Bill  for  Regulating  in  the  Clay  Districts,  the  scraping, 
wiping,  and  cleaning  of  men's  boots  on  their  return 
from  the  garden  or  the  field.  A  sore  provocation  it 
must  surely  be  to  those  who  love  order  and  brightness 
to  find  slabs  of  dirt  upon  their  new  oilcloth,  Indian 
mats,  and  bright  encaustic  tiles.  Justly  may  the  gentlest 
spirit  chnnter  and  complain,  while  the  guilty  husband, 
from  his  dressing-room  hard  by,  vainly  essays  to  evade 
his  shame  by  a  quotation — "  Would  my  darling  have  me 
come  bootless  home — home  without  boots,  and  in  wet 
weather,  too  ?  "  Better  to  give  the  real,  the  only  excuse, 
and  say  that  the  soil  is  so — no,  not  adhesive,  not  sticky, 
not  tenacious,  but,  to  use  a  word  ten  thousand  times 
more  expressive  than  these,  so  clarty. 

And  do  you  not  remember  (on  we  go  voyaging  among 
the  C's),  a  time,  a  happy  time,  before  you  knew  what 
digestion  meant,  when  you  delighted  to  crunch  the  un- 
ripe gooseberry,  until  you  heard  the  clomp  of  the  paternal 
tread  on  the  causey^  and  crouched  lest  you  should  catch 
it,  hid  to  escape  a  hiding ;  and  how,  nevertheless,  swift 
retribution  followed  upon  the  track  of  crime,  and  you 
suffered  those  internal  pains,  which  were  vulgarly  known 
as  colly-wobbles,  and  were  coddled^  in  consequence,  upon 
your  mother's  knees  ? 

Going  on  to  D. — Dickens,  in  a  description  of  a  street 
row,  represents  one  of  the  lady  disputants  as  saying 
to  her  adversary,  "  You  go  home,  and  when  you  are 
quite  sober,  mend  your  stockings ;  "  and  he  adds  that 
these  allusions,  not  only  to  her  intemperate  habits,  but 
to  the  state  of  her  wardrobe,  were  so  exasperating  to 
the  accused  party  that  she  proceeded  to  comply,  not 
with  the  suggestion  of  her  accuser,  but  with  the  request 


246         THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

of  the  bystanders,  and  to  "  pitch  in  "  with  considerable 
alacrity.  Assuming  that  her  hose  was  as  reported,  let 
us  hope  that  she  had  the  worst  of  the  combat,  for  there 
is  something  in  the  idea  of  a  doivdy  which  is  hateful  to 
the  manly  mind.  How  life-like  the  portrait  which  the 
word  paints  for  us — a  coarse,  fat  female,  her  dingy  cap, 
with  its  faded  ribbons,  awry  upon  her  unkempt  hair  ;  eyes 
bookless,  holes  buttonless,  upon  her  shabby  gown  ;  a 
bootlace  trailing  on  the  ground.  When  we  clergy  visit 
Mrs.  Dowdy's  home,  or  the  residence  of  her  sister,  Mrs. 
Slattern,  and  find  that,  though  it  is  towards  evening, 
they  have  not  tidied  either  self  or  house,  we  know  why 
the  children  are  unhealthy  and  untaught,  and  why  the 
husband  prefers  the  warmth  and  cleanliness  of  "The 
Manor  Arms  "  to  his  own  miserable  hut.  As  a  house- 
keeper, Mrs.  Dowdy  could  only  "  please  the  pigs  "  ;  and 
this  reminds  me  what  an  apt  word  we  have  in  Diinky 
for  a  rotund,  obese,  little  porket.  I  do  not  find  the 
latter  in  Johnson,  but  dowdy  is  Shakspere,  and  slattern 
is  from  the  Swedish. 

No  word  suggests  itself  as  I  stand  at  E's,  and  I  there- 
fore proceed  with  a  sonata  in  F,  composed  not  by 
Beethoven,  but  by  a  horse-breaker,  with  certain  ampli- 
fications of  my  own  : — "  The  young  horse  was  in  famous 
fettle,  and  framed  splendidly  over  the  flakes,  but  he 
seemed  all  of  a  flabber-gastcr  when  he  caught  sight  of 
the  water,  put  himself  into  a  regular  fandango,  and  the 
more  I  flanked  him  the  more  he  funked,  till  in  he  went 
with  2c  flop." 

I  come  now  to  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene.  To  me 
the  monosyllable  Gorp  is  a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy  for 
ever.  Take  a  youth,  who  has  passed  his  life  as  an 
underling,  on  some  secluded  farm,  to  an  exhibition  of 
wax  figures,  gorgeously  attired,  rolling  their  eyes  and 
lifting  up  their  arms  to  slow  music,  and  you  shall  see 


"THE   VULGAR   TONGUE"  247 

him  £-orJ>.  Or  go  with  that  young  man  to  a  display  of 
fireworks,  and  when  the  first  asteroid  rocket  sends  out 
its  glowing  stars,  you  shall  see  that  wide-mouthed, 
wobbling  agriculturist  so  gorp,  as  to  make  it  almost  im- 
possible for  the  descending  stick  to  go  anywhere  save 
down  his  throat. 

But  we  are  all  of  us  naturally  fond  of  gorping.  We 
abstain  in  our  sensitive  days,  because  somebody  said  it 
was  vulgar ;  but,  as  we  grow  older  and  wiser,  and  that 
bell-wether  Fashion  tinkles  vainly  in  our  ears,  we  flatten 
our  happy  noses  upon  the  shop  windows  once  again, 
and  thoroughly  enjoy  our  gorp. 

At  Oxford,  I  remember,  it  was  considered  very  low 
indeed  to  gorp.  In  fact,  we  did  not  allow  ourselves  to 
be  astonished  at  anything,  unless  it  was  the  audacity  of 
trades-people,  with  reference  to  the  payment  of  their 
little  bills.  Wherefore  I  the  more  honour  the  conduct 
and  courage  of  a  college  friend,  who,  honest  himself, 
and  as  free  from  humbug  as  any  man  I  know,  was 
bored,  especially  in  London,  by  the  society  of  an 
affected  coxcomb,  who  persisted  in  attaching  himself, 
whenever  they  met,  giving  himself  all  sorts  of  silly  airs, 
enlarging  upon  his  intimacy  with  titled  folks,  and  assert- 
ing himself  to  be,  like  Mrs.  Jarley's  show,  the  delight  of 
the  nobility  and  gentry  of  the  day.  "  Gradually,"  said  my 
friend  to  me,  "  I  discovered  a  process  by  which  I  might 
execute  a  deed  of  separation.  First,  I  rattled  my  stick 
against  the  area  railings,  and  I  saw  him  wince  ;  then  I 
whistled  an  Ethiopian  serenade,  and  '  o'er  his  face  a 
tablet  of  unutterable  thoughts  was  traced ' ;  but  when  I 
set  my  hat  well  on  the  back  of  my  head,  and  gorped  with 
open  mouth  at  six  legs  of  pork  in  a  butcher's  shop,  he 
fled,  and  I  saw  him  no  more." 

Thus  did  my  friend  successfully  assume  the  linea- 
ments of  a  Gawky  and  the  deportment  of  a  Gorby,  that 


248         THE    LETTERS   OP^   DEAN    HOLE 

he  might  evade  the  oppressive  attentions  of  a  com- 
panion given  to  Gawster.  The  enemy  whom  he  so 
adroitly  dispersed,  bore  a  strong  family  hkeness  to  a 
fraternal  nuisance,  whom  we  recently  inspected,  being, 
in  fact,  a  new  edition,  on  toned  paper,  and  elegantly 
bound,  of  the  braggart,  "  Brawnging  Bill,"  and  exhibit- 
ing the  same  feeble  powers  of  resistance,  when  his  silly 
conceits  were  thwarted.  Honest  men,  hoping  reforma- 
tion, rejoice  to  see  him  slink  away,  rejoice  to  see  the 
Gawsterer  subdued,  as  when  Theodore  Hook  rushed 
across  Fleet  Street  to  one,  who  was  walking  as  proudly 
down  it,  as  though  the  Bank  of  England  was  his  count- 
ing-house, and  St.  Paul's  his  private  Chapel,  and,  almost 
breathless  with  admiring  awe,  gasped  his  anxious  ques- 
tion— "  O  sir,  O  pray  sir,  may  I  ask,  sir — are  you  any- 
body in  particular  ? "  Certainly  it  is  either  a  great 
amusement  or  a  great  irritation  (as  the  weather,  or 
disposition,  or  digestion  may  influence),  to  meet  with 
persons  in  parks,  promenades,  esplanades,  and  spas, 
who  ostensibly  expect  you  to  look  at  them  in  an  ecstasy 
of  wonder,  as  though  they  were  a  sunset  on  Mont  Blanc 
or  the  Balaklava  Charge. 

Only  in  three  exceptional  cases  is  it  permissible,  as 
I  think,  to  Gawster.  I  like  to  see  a  drum-major,  with 
my  grandmother's  carriage-muff  on  his  head,  and  a 
baton  in  his  hand  as  long  as  a  bean-rod,  swaggering  at 
the  head  of  his  regiment,  as  though  he  had  only  to 
knock  at  the  gates  of  a  besieged  city,  and  the  governor 
would  instantly  send  the  keys.  Secondly,  I  was  dis- 
appointed the  other  day  at  the  stolid  behaviour  of  a 
sheep,  who  went  on  grazing  with  a  sublime  indifference, 
when  a  peacock,  having  marched  some  distance  for  the 
purpose,  wheeled  round  within  a  yard  of  its  nose,  dis- 
playing his  brilliant  charms  in  vain  ;  and  all  the  eyes 
of  Argus  seemed  to  pale  their  ineffectual  fire,  as  when 


"THE   VULGAR   TONGUE"  249 

Mercury,  with  his  dehghtful  music,  in  accordance  with 
the  command  of  Jupiter,  and  with  Lempriere's  diction- 
ary, made  them  wink  in  a  delicious  drowse.  And, 
thirdly,  in  the  case  of  a  game  bantam,  once  my  pro- 
perty, who  flew  up  every  morning  to  the  top  of  a  tall 
pump,  and  challenged  Nottinghamshire  to  fight,  I  could 
not  but  admire  the  gawstering  spirit,  because  he  so 
thoroughly  meant  all  that  he  said,  and  would  have 
gladly  matched  himself  against  a  mad  elephant,  or 
would  have  crowed  defiance,  midway  between  the  rails, 
as  the  express  rushed  on  at  speed. 

But  in  other  animals  I  would  pitilessly  suppress  pro- 
clivities to  gawster.  I  would  ask  power  from  Parliament 
to  whip,  when  mild  persuasion  failed,  the  precocious 
prig,  "  neither  man  nor  boy,"  who  struts  about  on 
Sundays,  scoffing  at  religion,  and  polluting  the  air  with 
bad  tobacco  and  worse  talk ;  and  I  would  authorise 
the  police  to  supervise,  and  to  send  home  at  their 
discretion,  those  small  giggling  girls,  who,  having  lost 
the  shame  which  is  a  glory  and  a  grace,  and  coveting 
every  adornment  but  one,  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and 
quiet  spirit,  are  seen  in  our  streets,  with  nearly  half  a 
year's  wage  upon  their  backs,  and  the  change  on  their 
faces — in  brass. 

To  gawster,  in  fine,  is  a  sure  indication  of  moral  and 
physical  debility.  He  w^ho  gawsters  is  like  a  show, 
w'hich  has  enormous  pictures  and  clanging  cymbals, 
and  gongs,  and  drums,  and  an  obese  showman,  in  his 
shirt-sleeves,  lying  through  a  speaking-trumpet  at  the 
top  of  his  voice,  outside,  and  little  more  than  a  three- 
headed  puppy,  or  a  seven-legged  lamb  (not  in  vigorous 
life,  as  shown  upon  the  canvas,  but  in  glass  and  spirits 
of  wine)  within.  When,  for  example,  you  hear  a  man 
gawster  about  his  horsemanship,  you  may  be  sure  that 
he   will   never  be  first  over  a  fence,  unless  it  be  some 


250         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

wee  obstacle,  which  you  could  almost  arrange  on  a 
rocking-horse,  and  then  he  will  rush  wildly  at  it,  as 
though  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  die ;  or,  if  his 
boasting  be  of  cricket,  you  may  expect  next  morning  to 
see  him  miss  the  first  easy  catch  which  comes. 

I  need  hardly  ask  whether  you  have  known,  my 
reader,  what  it  is  to  feel  yourself  Gloppencd,  as  when  in 
boyhood  (if  feminine,  please  ask  your  brother),  you 
had  just  finished  your  first  pipe  of  the  herb  called  shag, 
and  on  your  face  a  tablet  of  unutterable  thoughts  was 
traced,  as  represented  in  that  marvellous  sketch  by 
John  Leech,  "  Old  Bagshawe  under  the  influence  of 
tobacco  ;  "  when  you  went  forth  with  your  mother  for 
an  innings,  as  you  hoped,  at  the  confectioner's,  and  a 
second  ditto  at  the  toyshop,  and  saw  her  ringing  the 
dentist's  bell ;  when  you  had  carefully  adjusted  that 
cracker  to  Mr.  Nabal's  knocker,  and  were  lighting  the 
lucifer  within  the  quiet  seclusion  of  your  cap,  and 
suddenly  the  knuckles  of  Mr.  Nabal's  left  pressed  rudely 
on  your  nape,  and  the  thumb  and  finger  of  his  right 
essayed  to  meet  each  other  through  the  lobe  of  your 
ear ;  when  your  dearest  friend,  in  the  strictest  con- 
fidence, and  having  sworn  you  to  secrecy,  showed  you 
a  lock  of  gleaming  hair,  given  to  him  by  the  girl  whom 
you  adored, 

"  And  it  was  you,  my  Thomas,  you, 
The  friend  in  whom  my  soul  confided, 
Who  dared  to  gaze  on  her — to  do, 
I  may  say,  much  the  same  as  I  did  ; " 

or  when,  in  after  years,  unequally  mated,  you  groaned, 
with  Parolles,  under  the  subjugation  of  a  stronger  will, 
"  a  man  that's  married  is  a  man  that's  marred ;  "  and 
it  might  be  said  of  you,  as  once  it  was  said  by  a  labourer 
of  one  of  his  neighbours  (so  have  I  read  in  a  book 
about  roses,  a  charming  volume,  which  should  be  on 


"THE    VULGAR   TONGUE"  251 

every  table),  "Bill   has  been  and  married  his  mestur, 
and  she  has  gloppened  him  a  goodish  bit." 

I  remember  an  occasion  when  a  gawsterer  was 
gloppened  sorely.  There  was  an  ancient  mansion, 
wainscoted  and  floored  with  shining  oak^ — glib,  I  have 
not  heard  that  apposite,  terse  little  monosyllable  since 
I  went  slurring  with  the  village  boys — glib  as  glass  ; 
and  in  that  ancient  mansion  there  was  a  banquet ;  and 
to  that  banquet  came,  with  other  guests,  "a  fop  in  a 
gay  coat,"  a  coxcomb  wearing  the  bright  vestment  of 
the  hunter,  albeit  in  the  hour  of  chase  he  only  hunted 
gates  and  gaps  ;  and  upon  the  white  satin  lining  of 
his  "pink"  there  was  a  tiny  button-hole  bouquet,  such 
as  Mab  might  have  held  with  her  fairy  fingers  at  the 
time  of  her  coronation  ;  and  in  collar,  if  in  nothing  else, 
he  resembled  the  immortal  Shakspere  ;  and  his  bosom 
was  broad  and  snowy  as  the  swan's ;  and  his  pumps 
were  glossy  as  the  raven's  wing  ;  and  he  was  going 
dinnerward,  with  a  winsome  damsel  on  his  arm,  and 
a  complacent  smile  of  self-conceit  upon  his  counten- 
ance, when  the  smooth  soles  of  these  new  and  shining 
shoes  suddenly  performed  a  rapid  evolution,  as  though 
they  were  skates  upon  ice  ;  and  there  was  a  little  shriek 
from  the  winsome  damsel  in  particular,  and  a  large 
"Oh  !"  from  the  procession  in  general,  and  a  flash  of 
horizontal  scarlet,  as  when  a  soldier  falls  in  battle ;  and 
then  the  bruised  and  bewildered  dandy  picked  himself 
up,  as  best  he  could,  to  perform  a  part  for  which  his 
qualifications  were  small — the  personification  of  a  man 
who  had  a  relish  for  pain ;  and  I  sympathised  with, 
though  I  did  not  love  him — not  so  much  because  his 
feelings,  as  because  his  raiment  was  torn,  and  he,  who 
was  generally  the  most  lively  and  locomotive  of  all,  was 
now  depressed  and  sedentary,  like  the  lover  of  Con- 
stance, brooding  upon  his  silent  grief,  as  on  its  nest  the 


252         THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

dove,  while  we  remained  at  the  dinner-table,  and  finally 
backing  out  of  the  drawing-room,  at  an  early  hour,  as 
though  our  hostess  were  the  queen. 

And  his  involuntary  gymnastics  remind  me,  as  I  pass 
on  to  that  "terrible  thoroughbred"  letter  H  (I  have 
heard  men  speak  of  others  who  ignored  it  in  conversa- 
tion as  though  they  must  be  capable  of  any  crime), 
of  a  stout  old  lady  in  the  manufacturing  districts,  whose 
husband  had  been  very  successful  in  business,  and  had 
purchased  a  fine  old  country-residence  from  some 
dilapidated  squire.  She  was  complaining  to  a  visitor 
of  the  difficulty  which  she  had  in  walking  upon  the 
polished  floors.  "  First  I  sluther,"  she  said,  "  and  then 
I  hutchf  and  then  I  sluther,  and  then  I  hutch  ;  and  the 
more  I  hutch  the  more  I  sluther." 

Only  one  other  specimen  (for  I  must  hurry  on  helter- 
skelter  and  harum-scarum)  from  words  beginning  with 
H — to  be,  or  cause  others  to  be,  on  the  Hig,  that  is, 
to  go  about,  or  cause  others  to  go  about,  in  a  fume, 
angrily  excited,  menacing  revenge.  "  Betty,"  I  asked 
one  of  my  parishioners,  "why  do  you  make  these  ill- 
natured,  irritating  speeches  to  your  next-door  neigh- 
bour ?  "  "  Oh,  bless  yer,"  was  the  reply  I  received,  "  I 
only  said  'em  just  to  set  old  Sally  on  the  kig."  She 
knew  that  not  to  many  was  it  given  to  hear  resignedly 
the  bitter  word,  that  not  to  many  was  given  in  its  reality 
the  resignation  affected  by  another  of  my  old  women, 
who  (one  of  those  wretched  combinations  of  religion 
and  rancour,  "  who  think  they're  pious  when  they're 
only  bilious ")  accosted  me  with  the  startling  intelli- 
gence— "  Oh,  Mestur  'Ole,  I've  got  another  lift  towards 
'eaven.  Bowcocks"  (tenants  of  the  cottage  adjoining 
her  own),  "  Bowcocks  has  been  telling  more  lies ; 
blessed  are  the  parsecuted  !  "  Better  open  war  than 
this  dismal   affectation    of   peace !      Better   to   confess 


"THE   VULGAR   TONGUE"  253 

ourselves  Hity-tity,  and  to  raise  a  Hullabaloo,  than  such 
humbug  as  this  ! 

/,  the  egotist,  has  for  once  nothing  to  say ;  but  / 
recalls  to  me  an  extract  from  a  conversation  which  took 
place  during  one  of  my  parochial  visitations  : — 

Pastor. — "Did  I  not  see  old  Nanny  Smith  talking 
with  you  at  your  door,  just  now  ?  " 

Parishioner. — ''  O  yes,  she  wor  here  not  three  minutes 
sin',  and  jabbering,  as  usual,  like  a  clamm'd  (famished) 
jay  in  a  wood ;  but  when  she  see  your  reverence  coming 
up  th'  lane,  th'  old  lass  wor  gone  m  2ijiffey." 

K  makes  no  suggestions,  and  L  but  few.  "  111  lay  " 
has  no  reference  to  eggs  or  to  a  recumbent  posture,  but 
implies  a  wager.  Some  years  ago,  I  was  riding  to  the 
meet,  and  came  up  inaudibly,  upon  the  wayside  grass, 
with  two  grooms  on  their  masters'  hunters,  peering  over 
their  pummels  at  a  mounted  horse  in  the  distance  before 
them,  and  anxiously  discussing  his  identity.  Just  as  I 
was  passing  the  disputants,  the  one  turned  to  the  other 
and  said,  "  I  shall  lay  yer  three  threepenny  gins  to  one 
as  it's  Colonel's  rat-tailed  'oss." 

Lig  is  still  commonly  used  for  lie.  "  Our  Bob  has 
ligabed  sin'  Monday."  "  The  moon  wor  ligging  behind 
a  cloud,  so  they  couldn't  see  keepers  coming."  To  lorp 
is  to  move  awkwardly  or  idly,  and  the  word  suggests  a 
noble  line  for  the  alliterative  poet, 

Lo,  lazy  lubbers  loutish,  lorp  and  loll. 

In  the  days  of  my  boyhood  I  was  perplexed  conjec- 
turing by  what  process  of  the  rustic  mind  moles  had 
changed  their  names  into  Moiildiwarps ;  but  I  have 
since  discovered  that  in  this  instance,  as  in  countless 
others,  the  bucolic  brain  was  not  so  mollified  by  beans 
and  bacon  as  some  would  have  us  believe.     The  mould, 


254         THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

and  very  fine  mould  it  is,  is  warped,  turned  up  by  the 
mole ;  and  this  reminds  me  of  a  mole-catcher,  whose 
principles  were  warped  also,  and  whose  occupation  was 
gone  awhile  in  our  parts,  when  it  was  discovered  that 
he  carried  a  collection  of  dead  moles  about  with  him, 
with  which,  the  morning  after  his  traps  had  been  set,  he 
made  a  grand  display  on  some  contiguous  hedge,  in- 
ducing his  employer  fondly  to  imagine  that  his  enemies 
(as  he  thought  them)  had  been  all  destroyed  in  a  night. 
Flying  onwards,  for  this  is  a  very  fugitive  piece,  I 
would  ask  admiration  for  the  adjective  Muggy,  as  ex- 
quisitely descriptive  of  weather,  not  uncommon  in  this 
climate,  where  a  fog  gives  one  the  idea,  suggested  by 
Dickens,  that  nature  is  brewing  on  an  extensive  scale 
outside,  and  there's  dampness  everywhere,  taking  the 
curl  from  ringlet  and  whisker,  and  causing  our  adhesive 
envelopes  to  fasten  themselves  on  our  writing-table,  as 
though  practismg  the  duties  of  their  post. 

"  No  sun,  no  moon, 
No  morn,  no  noon, 
No  dawn,  no  dusk,  no  proper  time  of  day — 
No  sky,  no  earthly  view. 
No  distance  looking  blue. 
No  road,  no  street,  no  t'other  side  the  way — 
No  warmth,  no  cheerfulness,  no  healthful  ease, 
No  comfortable  feel  in  any  member. 
No  shade,  no  shine,  no  butterflies,  no  bees, 
No     .     .     .     vember!" 

I  love,  though  not  as  licensed  victuallers  love,  the 
little  monosyllable  Nip.  What  a  nimble  agility,  what  a 
motive  power,  in  that  curt,  imperative  word,  the  pistol- 
shot  which  starts  the  boat-race,  the  brief  shrill  whistle 
which  starts  the  train.  "Just  nip  off  your  horse  and 
pull  out  that  stake."     "  You  nipped  out  o'  the  army," 


"THE   VULGAR   TONGUE"  255 

said  a  snob  to  a  friend  of  mine,  who  had  retired  some 
years  before  the  Crimean  invasion,  and  who,  in  his 
magisterial  capacity,  had  offended  the  snob;  "you 
know'd  t'  war  wor  a-coming ;  you  nipped  out,  you 
didn't  relish  them  Rooshan  baggonets  a-prodding  and 
a-pricking.  You  nipped  out  o'  th'  army ;  you  know'd  t' 
war  wor  coming.  Good  morning.  I  think  you  were 
right." 

When  the  wind  bloweth  in  from  the  Orient,  or  when 
our  discretion  has  collapsed  before  a  lobster  salad  (that 
claw  looked  so  innocently  pink,  and  that  lettuce  so  crisp 
and  green  !)  then  is  poor  human  nature  but  too  prone 
to  be  querulous ;  we  disagree,  like  the  lobster,  with  our 
fellow-creatures ;  we  are  peevishly  disposed  to  Na<^. 
"  My  mestur  has  been  a  good  husband  to  me,"  said 
one  of  the  matrons  of  my  flock,  "  but  he  can  chime  in 
nasty  when  he  wants  to  nag." 

Times  of  refinement  are  probably  at  hand  when,  under 
the  sacred  influence  of  School  Boards,  the  rural  tongue 
shall  cease  to  substitute  the  word  No-at  for  nought  or 
nothing.  I  am  not  sorry  that  when  that  epoch  comes  I 
shall  no  longer  be  attached  to  this  machine.  I  cling  to 
those  expressions,  which  I  have  heard  from  childhood  : 
"  He's  like  a  no-at."  "  He's  up  to  no-at."  One  day, 
years  ago,  we  waited  for  the  train  at,  not  Coventry,  but 
Ratcliffe-on-Trent,  and  while  we  waited  a  weary  work- 
man, with  his  bag  of  tools  on  his  back,  came  and  sat  on 
the  bench  beside.  Presently  we  were  joined  by  a  third 
person  in  the  garrulous  phase  of  inebriety,  and  he 
pestered  the  tired  artisan  with  his  bosh  and  gibberish 
(two  words  which  should  have  been  introduced  at  an 
earlier  period  of  my  history)  until  he  provoked  the 
righteous  expostulation,  "Oh,  don't  bother  me,  you're 
drunk."  Then  with  an  air  of  outraged  dignity,  and 
with  a  stern  solemnity,  which,  if  he  had  not  wobbled  in 


256         THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

his  gait,  and  stammered  in  his  utterance,  might  have 
suggested  the  idea  that  he  had  just  been  appointed 
Professor  of  Philosophy  for  the  Midland  Districts,  he 
delivered  an  oration  :  "  Now  just  you  listen  to  me.  Do 
you  suppose  as  a  Mighty  Power  'ud  mak  the  barley  to 
grow,  and  the  'ops  to  grow,  and  then  put  it  into  the 
minds  of  other  parties  to  mak  'em  foment,  and  me  not 
meant  to  drink  'em;  why,  you  know  no-at!"  Where- 
upon the  apt  rejoinder  :  "  I  know  this — that  a  Mighty 
Power  never  meant  the  barley  to  grow  nor  the  hops  to 
grow,  for  you  to  take  and  turn  yoursen  into  a  be-ast." 

Nobbut  is  still  common  in  these  parts,  in  abbreviation 
of  "nothing  but."  I  congratulated  an  invalid  parishioner 
on  the  presence  of  the  doctor,  and  he  said  dolefully, 
"  Oh  yes,  sir ;  thank  yer,  sir  —  but  it's  nobbut  th' 
'prentice." 

My  limits  do  not  allow  me  to  mind  my  P's  and  Q's  and 
R's,  or  I  might  have  enlarged  upon  such  words  7is  palaver 
and  pawting  and  peart  and  prod,  and  ramper  and  ram- 
shackle and  rawm ;  and  I  can  only  dwell  upon  one 
selection  from  the  S's,  of  which  there  is  a  long  Sigma- 
tismus,  such  as  snag  ("  Billy  and  Sally's  always  at  snags  ") 
and  scuft  and  scrawl  {"  he  wor  just  a  glass  over  the 
scrawl,"  i.e.  the  line  of  sobriety),  and  scrawn  and  slape 
and  snigger  and  slive  ("  I  see  that  shack  ■^-sliving  and 
Ti-skulking  about "),  and  slare  and  slawniy  and  sneck  and 
snoozle  and  spank  and  stodge  and  stunt  and  siuish. 

The  word  which  I  would  illustrate  is  skimpy.  It 
signifies  something  mean  and  defective ;  and  in  the 
following  history,  told  to  me  by  a  clerical  friend,  it 
refers  to  an  attenuated  and  bony  female.  When  a 
curate  in  a  remote  country  parish,  he  took  a  raw  village 
lad  into  his  service,  to  train  him  for  some  better  place ; 
and,  when  his  education  was  sufficiently  advanced,  and 
he  had  made  some  progress  in  the  art  of  waiting,  he  was 


''THE   VULGAR  TONGUE"  257 

permitted  to  accompany  his  master  to  a  large  dinner- 
party given  by  a  neighbouring  squire.  Next  morning 
he  communicated  his  experiences  to  the  housekeeper, 
and  she  treacherously  repeated  them  to  my  friend. 
"  *  Oh,'  he  said,  '  it  just  wor  grand.  Me  and  t'other 
gentlemen  in  livery  we  stood  i'  th'  'all,  and  they  flung 
open  folding  doors,  and  out  come  the  quality  tu  and  tu, 
harm  i'  harm,  all  a-talking  and  a-grinning,  and  as  smart 
as  ninepence.  I  wor  quite  surprised  at  mestur.  He 
come  out  last  of  all,  with  a  skimpy  old  woman,  I  should 
say  she  wor  sixty  off,  and  there  were  squire's  daughter, 
looking  as  bewtifle  as  bewtifle,  and  dressed  up  as  gay  as 
waxwork.  I  never  made  no  mistake,  except  giving  one 
gentleman  mustard  wrong  side,  and  just  a  drop  or  so  o' 
gravy  down  a  hunbeknown  young  lady's  back.'  " 

I  have  reached  the  length  of  my  tether,  and  will  go 
no  longer  2i-tewing  after  words,  lest  I  put  my  readers  in 
a  tiff,  and  leave  them  in  a  tantrum.  I  vj'iWj/ark  off.  Said 
an  underkeeper,  who  had  just  shot  at  a  snipe,  "  It  parked 
up  and  screeted,  and  I  nipped  round  and  blazed ;  but  I 
catched  my  toe  on  a  bit  of  a  tussock,  and  so,  consarn  it, 
I  missed."  Let  me  hope  that  I  have  not  so  completely 
failed  in  my  aim,  while  firing  my  small  shot  against 
certain  abuses  and  disuses  connected  with  The  Vulgar 
Tongue. 


APPENDIX  D 

THE    ELECTION    OF    PROCTORS    FOR   THE 
DIOCESE   OF   SOUTHWELL 

On  the  23rd  of  July  1886  a  large  number  of  the  clergy 
of  the  diocese  met  in  the  Lecture-hall  of  the  Mechanics' 
Institute,  Nottingham,  to  elect  two  Proctors  to  represent 
them  in  Convocation.  The  Lord  Bishop  of  Southwell 
presided. 

Canon  Morse  proposed  Canon  Hole  as  a  candidate 
for  the  office  of  Proctor  (applause).  He  had  been 
elected  to  the  office  twice  and  oftener  without  any 
opposition,  and  he  concluded  from  that  the  clergy  then 
present  voted  for  him  (no).  Certainly  none  voted 
against  him.  He  held  precisely  the  same  views  as  be- 
fore, and  he  thought  they  were  happy  in  having  such  a 
man  in  the  archdeaconry.  He  had  ever  been  a  good 
Churchman  (applause).  He  was  a  finished  speaker,  and 
one  they  wanted  in  the  Lower  House  of  Convocation. 
He  asked  them  to  look  round,  and  in  almost  every 
cathedral  in  the  country  they  would  find  that  he  was 
known.  As  to  his  popularity  he  (Canon  Morse)  would 
only  say  that  the  last  time  Canon  Hole  preached  in  St. 
Mary's  Church,  he  thought  he  should  never  get  in  him- 
self. He  maintained  that  he  was  a  man  whom  they 
ought  to  have  in  Convocation  (applause). 

Canon  Trebeck   seconded   the    nomination.      Canon 

Hole  held  a  position  of  distinction  as  a  clergyman  in 

258 


THE   ELECTION   OF   PROCTORS  259 

the  diocese  and  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  he  might 
say,  without  exaggeration,  all  over  the  English-speaking 
world.  He  was  making  great  sacrifices  for  the  service 
of  the  Church,  which  he  accepted  as  a  pledge  of  his 
devotion  to  her  cause.  He  had  leisure  for  his  duties  in 
Convocation.  He  had  the  ear  of  all  classes  of  the  com- 
munity, and  possessed  the  comparatively  rare  gift  of 
facility  in  debate.  He  had  served  in  the  office  long  and 
faithfully,  and  he  offered  to  serve  them  again,  not  with 
vague  promises  of  reform,  which  might  mean  anything 
or  nothing,  but  building  his  hopes  for  the  future  of  the 
Church  rather  in  the  power  which  they  each  possessed 
of  purifying,  by  the  Divine  aid,  the  spirit  in  which  they 
did  their  work  than  in  the  thankless  task  of  trying  to 
conciliate  opposition  by  making  concessions  sure  to  be 
followed  by  increased  demands  (applause).  He  (Canon 
Trebeck)  confessed  he  found  it  difficult  to  take  very 
seriously  the  objections  which  had  been  raised  to  Canon 
Hole's  proctorship  in  respect  of  his  orthodoxy.  Canon 
Hole's  teaching  was  sought  for  everywhere  and  inces- 
santly on  almost  every  sort  of  religious  occasion  in  the 
nation  and  beyond  it — services  which  Canon  Hole  as 
readily  rendered  around  his  own  home  as  when  called 
to  address  the  largest  and  most  influential  assemblies. 
It  had  been  alleged  that  Canon  Hole's  reply  in  regard  to 
some  expressions  of  Lord  Halifax  was  unsatisfactory. 
The  difficulty,  he  submitted,  if  difficulty  existed,  was 
logical  and  not  theological.  There  was  something  like 
what  was  called  the  "fallacy  of  many  questions"  in  the 
question  as  it  was  put  to  him.  If  Canon  Hole's  answer 
was  unsatisfactory  it  was  because  an  answer  that  was 
logically  satisfactory  was  impossible  to  a  question  put  in 
that  particular  form.  Let  them  take  some  extracts  from 
Canon  Hole's  letters,  and  they  could  be  made,  as  almost 
all   isolated  expressions  could  be  made,  objectionable. 


26o    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

Let  them  read  the  same  letters  in  extenso,  and  they 
would  find  as  strong  a  repudiation  of  Papal  errors 
and  Papal  intrigues  as  words  could  give.  But  they  were 
not  criticising  letters,  nor  were  they  sending  a  printed 
letter  to  Convocation  as  a  testimonial  of  the  orthodoxy 
of  the  diocese.  Canon  Hole  was  himself  their  epistle  to 
Convocation  "known  and  read  of  all  men."  His  re- 
ligious convictions  stood  in  the  clear  and  steady  light 
for  good  or  evil  of  his  everyday  labours,  and  to  hold 
out  to  them  the  winking  tapers  of  excuses  and  apologies 
would  be  simply  to  obscure  them.  They  were  there  not 
to  hunt  for  exceptions  in  correspondence,  but  to  judge 
of  their  representative  by  the  whole  tenor  of  his  conduct. 
If  pious  hopes  for  the  union  of  Christendom  were  mis- 
chievous because  their  fulfilment  was  beyond  human 
foresight,  what  would  be  said  of  those  who  hoped  for 
the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  or  prayed  that  "  Satan  may 
be  beaten  down  under  our  feet."  Canon  Hole  went  no 
further  than  that.  They  did  not  expect  infallibility  in 
a  Proctor  for  Convocation.  Taking  one  thing  with 
another,  they  could  send  no  better  man  to  represent 
them  ;  their  choice  would  be  approved  by  the  Church 
of  England  at  large,  and  ratified  by  the  electing  body  of 
the  diocese. 

The  Rev.  J.  Chancellor  proposed  that  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Henry  Freer,  rector  of  Sudbury,  should  be  nominated. — 
Mr.  F.  Jourdain  seconded. 

The  Rev.  Lord  Forester  proposed  Canon  Jackson. 
His  duty  was  not  altogether  unmixed  with  pain  because 
there  appeared  to  be  some  spice  of  opposition  in  his 
proposal. — The  Rev.  Canon  Knight  seconded  the  nomi- 
nation. 

The  Bishop  then  announced  that  it  was  open  for 
any  one  to  ask  questions  of  the  candidates. 

The  Rev.  T.  A.  Field  then  put  the  following  question 


THE   ELECTION    OF   PROCTORS  261 

to  Canon  Hole:  "Are  you  a  member  of  the  Confra- 
ternity of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  if  so  do  you  join 
with  that  association  in  desiring  the  Reservation  of  that 
Sacrament  ?  " 

Canon  Hole,  in  reply,  said  he  was  thankful  to  say  he 
had  been  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Confraternity 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  All  that  it  had  done  for  him 
had  been  to  give  him  additional  subjects  of  prayer,  and 
to  deepen  his  love  for  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  He  did  not  recognise  that  the  Confraternity  of 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  had  anything  whatever  to  do 
with  Rome,  certainly  not  with  their  doctrine  of  Tran- 
substantiation.  As  for  Reservation,  it  was  a  subject  to 
which  he  had  not  given  consideration  (applause).  He 
did  not  see  the  slightest  probability  of  its  being  restored 
in  the  Church.  He  had  come  to  no  decision  on  the 
matter,  and  he  would  therefore  make  no  definite  answer. 

The  Rev.  T.  A,  Field  submitted  that  the  latter  part  of 
the  question  had  not  been  answered. 

The  Lord  Bishop  said  he  held  that  it  had  been 
answered  (applause). 

Canon  Hole  was  then  asked  whether,  in  view  of  his 
recent  letter,  and  that  of  Lord  Halifax,  as  to  the  policy 
of  the  English  Church  Union,  he  had  ceased  to  be  a 
member  of  that  body  ?  In  reply,  he  said  he  had  not  the 
slightest  intention  of  ceasing  to  be  a  member  of  the 
English  Church  Union  (applause) — so  long  as  some 
of  the  holiest  and  hardest  working  men  throughout 
England,  with  whom  he  was  acquainted,  were  liable  to 
persecution  for  following  the  dictates  of  their  con- 
sciences and  obeying,  as  they  believed,  the  laws  of  the 
Church  of  England.  With  regard  to  Lord  Halifax,  he 
had  said  he  very  much  agreed  with  the  spirit  in  which 
he  had  advocated  the  reunion  of  Christendom.  Was  it 
possible  that  there  could  be  a  man  in  that  room  who  did 


262  THE   LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

not  pray  to  Almighty  God  for  the  reunion  of  half  Christ- 
endom ?  and  that  was  the  Church  of  Rome.  Was  it 
possible  that  such  a  thing  could  be  that  they  should 
not  follow  their  Lord's  example  and  pray  for  reunion  ? 
("Not  with  Rome.")  Yes,  with  Rome,  purified  of 
Romish  errors  (loud  applause) — and  not  only  with 
Rome,  but  with  all — even  with  the  vilest  drunkards  and 
harlots  in  the  streets  (applause).  So  far  he  entirely 
agreed  with  Lord  Halifax.  He  did  not  agree  with  him 
as  to  what  he  had  said  with  respect  to  the  supremacy  of 
the  Pope.  From  the  very  first  he  had  said  he  desired 
no  chief  beyond  his  own  Archbishop.  He  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  and  he  never 
should  dream  of  submitting  to  it.  He  had  said  he  had 
no  more  wish  to  see  the  Pope  at  the  head  of  the  Church 
than  he  had  as  an  Englishman  to  obey  the  Sultan  or 
King  Parnell.  What  was  plainer  English  than  that  ? 
He  must  confess  that  he  had  gone  through  a  variety  of 
very  strong  emotions  since  the  opposition  started  to  his 
re-election  as  proctor.  He  was  mystified.  What  had 
he  done  ?  In  what  particular  point  had  Reynolds  Hole, 
whom  they  had  elected  four  times  to  Convocation, 
failed  ?  (applause).  How  was  it  that  those  men  whose 
names  he  saw  in  the  newspapers  were  opposing  him, 
from  whom  he  had  continual  solicitations  to  go  into 
their  parishes  and  preach  the  word  of  God  ?  (applause). 
But  now  as  to  Lord  Halifax  he  should  speak  for  himself 
in  the  following  letter  : — 

LETTER   FROM    LORD    HALIFAX,   THE   PRESIDENT 
OF  THE    ENGLISH    CHURCH    UNION 

"The  Moult,  Kingsbridge,  South  Devon, 
July  1 6,  1886. 
"  My  dear  Canon  Hole, — I  am  sorry  that    any  words  of 
mine   should   have   been    so  interpreted   as    to   cause    you  any 


THE   ELECTION   OF   PROCTORS  263 

inconvenience.  It  may  be,  as  some  have  said  to  you,  that  they  were 
unguarded  ;  but  it  is  almost  impossible  in  a  short  address  to  say 
all  that  has  to  be  said  on  all  sides  of  a  very  complicated  subject ; 
and,  after  all,  I  do  not  know  that  I  said  anything  more  than  I 
have  often  said  before.  The  Catholic  Revival  has  certainly 
transformed  the  Church  of  England  within  the  last  fifty  years, 
and  I  look  upon  this  revival  as  the  continuation  and  develop- 
ment of  the  Evangelical  movement,  to  which  we  certainly  owe 
the  revival  of  the  idea  of  •  Grace '  in  the  Church  of  England, 
just  as  I  believe  the  Evangelical  movement  itself  was  due  to 
John  Wesley,  who,  amid  the  deadness  of  spiritual  religion  pre- 
vailing during  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  kept  alive 
the  idea  of  a  supernatural  order  amongst  us. 

"  But  what  is  this  except  to  recognise  God's  good  providence, 
guiding  the  Church  of  England  for  her  good  in  the  past,  and  to 
believe  that  He,  Who  has  begun  that  good  work,  will  also  com- 
plete it  by  bringing  again  into  one  the  scattered  members  of 
Christ's  flock. 

"  For  that  reunion  of  Christendom  I  do  most  earnestly  pray. 
Who  can  help  doing  so,  who  thinks  of  our  Lord's  last  prayer, 
that  His  disciples  may  be  oml  And  I  think  one  of  the  saddest 
things  possible  is  to  see  how  little,  as  a  rule,  people  seem  to  care 
about  our  most  unhappy  divisions. 

"  I  desire  reunion  among  ourselves,  with  our  separated  brethren 
at  home,  not  by  a  sacrifice  of  the  truth,  but  through  the  truth ; 
and,  in  the  same  way,  I  most  earnestly  desire  the  restoration  of 
visible  communion  between  ourselves  and  the  members  of  the 
Roman  Church,  not,  as  I  have  always  said,  by  a  sacrifice  of  the 
truth,  but  through  the  truth,  and  as  the  great  and  most  effectual 
step  towards  that  most  blessed  end,  after  prayer  to  God.  I  have 
wished  that  we  all  should  try  to  think  of  our  own  faults  rather 
than  those  of  our  neighbours — to  correct  those  which  we  might 
amend,  rather  than  those  which  were  not  so  primarily  our  own 
especial  business.  As  an  argumentum  ad  hommein,  in  view  of 
much  that  was  written  at  one  time  in  regard  to  the  Bishop  of 
Capetown  on  the  South  African  Church,  I  have  also  said,  having 
regard  to  our  own  deficiencies,  that  an  appeal  from  a  Christian 
Bishop  about  the  verities  of  the  Faith  to  a  court  like  the  Judicial 


264  THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 

Committee  of  Privy  Council  is  a  scandal,  which  an  appeal  on 
such  matters  from  a  Bishop  to  his  Metropolitan,  or  from  a 
Metropolitan  to  a  Patriarch,  or  from  one  Bishop  to  the  Primate 
of  Christendom,  is  not.  This,  I  certainly  do  think,  and  most 
instructed  Christians  will,  I  think,  agree  with  me;  but  I  have 
never  said  that  I  wished  to  see  appeals  restored  from  Canterbury 
to  Rome,  and,  in  point  of  fact,  I  have  no  such  wish. 

"The  reunion  of  Christendom  on  Catholic  principles  is  one 
thing,  the  revival  of  an  appellate  jurisdiction  from  Canterbury  to 
Rome,  quite  another.  You  see  I  write  to  you  Avith  the  greatest 
frankness.  I  could  not  endure  anything  except  the  most  perfect 
openness  about  my  opinions,  which  are,  after  all,  my  own,  not 
necessarily  those  of  any  other  member  of  the  Union,  or  of  the 
Society  at  large,  and  which,  if  I  know  myself  at  all,  have  their 
root  and  growth  in  my  own  most  earnest  desire  to  serve  that 
portion  of  God's  Church  in  which  it  has  pleased  Him  to  place 
me. — Ever  yours  most  sincerely,  Halifax." 


If  that  was  not  satisfactory — if  that  was  not  the  letter  of 
a  true  son  of  the  Church  of  England — he  never  read 
one  that  was,  and  if  they  were  not  satisfied  they  ought 
to  be.  There  were  some  people  whom  it  was  very 
difficult  to  satisfy.  He  said  to  a  friend  of  his — "  I  have 
done  my  best  to  answer  the  accusation  which  I  never 
dreamed  would  be  brought  against  me.  I  have  said 
as  plainly  as  I  can  what  I  mean  about  the  Church  of 
Rome  ;  I  think  they  will  be  satisfied."  And  his  friend 
replied,  "  My  dear  Hole,  they  don't  want  to  be  satisfied  " 
(applause).  He  was  accused  by  hint  and  innuendo,  and 
also  by  written  accusation,  of  being  associated  with  men 
who  wish  to  Romanise  the  Church  of  England.  He 
indignantly,  with  all  the  righteous  indignation  of  an 
honest  man  answering  a  charge  of  dishonesty,  denied, 
repelled,  and  despised  that  accusation  (loud  applause). 
He  had  lived  all  his  life  amongst  them ;  who  could 
mention  a  single  word  or  act  of  his  in  favour  of  any 


THE   ELECTION   OF   PROCTORS  265 

specific  Romish  practice  or  doctrine  ?  If  there  was 
any  one  let  him  come  forth  (applause).  He  had  many 
friends  to  whom  he  had  opened  his  heart.  Let  the 
man  come  forward  who  could  say  he  had  ever  heard 
him  speak  a  word  against  the  Church  of  England,  of 
which  he  was  an  unworthy  priest.  What  had  he  done 
that  he  should  be  accused  of  s^^mpathies  with  the 
Church  of  Rome  ?  He  had  been  selected  to  preach 
to  his  University,  he  had  been  through  the  land  preach- 
ing, and  there  was  not  a  man  who  could  say  he  had 
spoken  in  favour  of  Papal  supremacy.  He  never  had 
an  interview  but  once  with  a  Romish  priest,  and  their 
conversation  ended  by  his  (Canon  Hole)  saying  that  the 
Church  of  England  had  got  all  the  Grace  and  Truth 
that  the  Roman  Catholics  had  got,  and  was  free  from 
her  errors  and  novelties  ;  and  yet,  forsooth,  he  was 
going  to  Romanise  the  English  Church.  It  seemed  to 
him — his  life  had  been  long  and  his  experience  large — 
that  the  men  amongst  them  doing  most  to  Romanise 
the  Church  of  England  were  those  who  were  keeping 
from  the  children  of  the  Church  their  full  privileges — 
(applause) — those  who  were  watering  down  her  Doctrines 
and  minimising  her  Services.  The  matter  was  of  local 
interest.  A  young  man  not  very  long  ago  in  that  neigh- 
bourhood went  over  to  Rome.  The  clergyman  said  he 
had  suspected  him  long,  because  he  had  been  flirting 
with  choral  unions  and  with  that  sort  of  thing.  A  friend 
of  his  happened  to  meet  him,  and  asked  whether  it 
was  true  that  the  choral  union  had  anything  to  do 
with  it.  No,  he  said,  it  was  the  absence  of  what  he 
ought  to  have  had  in  the  Church  of  England  that  drove 
him  to  Rome.  It  was,  he  added,  because  he  found  the 
Creeds  sometimes  not  said  at  all,  and  very  often  con- 
tradicted. He  (the  speaker)  had  a  letter  not  long  ago 
from  a  young  man  in  that  district,  who  said  he  had 


266         THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 

been  two  years  a  communicant,  but  had  never  once 
heard  the  Athanasian  Creed.  (Question.)  He  should 
be  very  sorry  to  name  the  clerical  gentleman  in  whose 
Church  it  was.  All  he  wanted  to  tell  them  was  that  he 
had  no  sympathy  with  the  errors  of  the  Church  of 
Rome.  He  had  no  wish  for  union  at  the  sacrifice  of 
Truth.  If  the  Romans  were  to  come  to  them  they  must 
come  as  Primitive  Catholic  Christians,  without  their 
Infallibility  and  their  compulsory  celibacy  of  clergy, 
and  on  that  basis  alone  could  they  have  union.  Unless 
some  specific  question  was  to  be  asked  he  would  say  no 
more  except  that  he  should  like  to  state  that  his  feeling 
of  astonishment  and  indignation  had  gone  by.  The 
storm  had  passed  over ;  the  sea  was  calm.  Hope 
reigned  triumphant.  He  would  just  ask  one  question. 
Was  there  any  man  in  that  room  or  in  the  diocese  who 
really  believed  in  his  heart  that  he  (Canon  Hole)  wished 
to  Romanise  the  Church  of  England  ?  And  another 
question  was — Was  there  any  man  there  who  really 
believed  in  his  heart  that  if  Mr.  Jackson  went  to  Con- 
vocation in  his  place  the  influence  of  the  Roman 
Church  would  from  that  moment  materially  decrease  ? 
(laughter).  He  left  them  with  those  two  questions,  and 
with  just  this  one  remark — What  had  he  done  to  lose 
that  confidence  which  they  had  given  him  so  long,  and 
which  he  confidently  believed  they  would  give  him  again  ? 
(applause). 

The  Rev.  T.  Cleworth  asked  if  Canon  Hole  had  said 
that  he  would  never  preach  in  a  church  where  evening 
communions  were  administered,  and  was  he  in  favour 
of  a  thorough  measure  of  Church  reform,  and  if  so,  what 
is  it  ?  (laughter). 

Canon  Hole  said  that  he  had  400  invitations  a  year  to 
preach,  and  he  certainly  should  not  select  any  church 
which  had  an  evening  communion.     They  had  Church 


THE    ELECTION    OF    PROCTORS  267 

reform  discussed  in  Convocation  the  other  day,  and  a 
great  deal  was  said  about  the  elasticity  of  their  services. 
He  suggested  that  the  clergy  should  have  more  elastic 
boots,  should  get  up  earlier  and  do  more  work,  and  then 
reform  of  Church  work  would  be  begun.  Let  them  do 
more  work  in  the  Church's  way,  instead  of  only  talking 
about  fancies  and  impossibilities. 

The  voting  was  then  taken,  and  the  result  was  that 
Canon  Hole  and  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Freer  were  declared 
elected.  Canon  Jackson  only  receiving  about  thirty-five 
votes  as  compared  with  fifty  given  to  Dean  Hole. 

The  Rev.  Lord  Forester  demanded  a  poll  on  behalf 
of  Canon  Jackson,  and  the  election  took  place  on  29th 
July,  with  the  result  that  Canon  Hole  was  re-elected  by 
a  large  majority,  200  against  136. 


APPENDIX  E 

CLASSES    AND    RULES    FOR    THE    FIRST 
NATIONAL  ROSE  SHOW,  JULY  i,  1858 

Class  L — To  Groivers  for  Sale. 

A.  For   the  best  Collection    of   Roses,   three  trusses  of  each 

variety:  ist,   A  Silver  Cup,  value  ten  guineas;  2nd,  A 
Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas. 

B.  For  the  best  Collection  of  Roses,  one  truss  of  each  variety : 

I  St,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas;  2nd  prize,  ^2>' 

(Exhibitors  in  Class  A  cannot  show  in  Class  B.) 

C.  For  the  best  Collection  of  Roses  of  48  distinct  varieties,  to 

be  shown  in  single  trusses  :  ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five 
guineas ;  2nd  prize,  ^^. 

D.  For  the  best  Collection  of  Roses  of  24  distinct  varieties,  to 

be  shown  in  single  trusses;  ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five 
guineas ;  2nd  prize,  jQt}- 

(Exhibitors  in  Class  C  cannot  show  in  class  D.) 

E.  For  the  best  Collection  of  Moss   Roses,  to  be  shown  in 

single  trusses  :  ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas  ;  2nd 
prize,  £2. 

F.  For  the  best  Collection  of  Tea  and  Noisette  Roses,  to  be 

shown   in   three  trusses :    ist,  A  Silver  Cup,   value  five 
guineas  ;  2nd  prize,  £2. 

G.  For  the  best  Collection  of  Gallica  Roses,  to  be  shown  in 

three  trusses:  ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas;  2nd 

prize,  £2. 

268 


FIRST   NATIONAL    ROSE    SHOW  269 

Class  11.  — To  Amaietirs  regularly  employing  a  Gardener. 

H.     For  the  best  Collection   of  Roses,  to   be  shown  in  single 

trusses:    ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  ten  guineas;    2nd,  A 

Silver   Cup,    value   five   guineas ;    3rd,    Piece   of    Plate, 

value  £1. 
I.     For  the  best  Collection  of  24  distinct  varieties,  to  be  shown 

in  single  trusses:  ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  ten  guineas; 

2nd,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas;   3rd,  a  Piece  of 

Plate,  value  ^3. 
J.     For  the  best  Collection  of  12  distinct  varieties,  to  be  shown 

in  single  trusses:    ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas; 

2nd,  A  Piece  of  Plate,  value  £t^  ;  3rd,  ditto,  £2. 
K.     For  the  best  Collection  of  6  distinct  varieties,  to  be  shown 

in  single  trusses:   ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas; 

2nd,  A  Piece  of  Plate,  value  ^3  ;  3rd,  ditto,  £2. 


Class  III. — To  Amateurs  not  regularly  employi?ig  a  Gardener. 

L.     For  the  best  Collection  of  24  distinct  varieties,  to  be  shown 

in  single  trusses:   ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas; 

2nd,  Piece  of  Plate,  ^3;  3rd,  ditto,  £2. 
M.     For  the  best  Collection  of  1 2  distinct  varieties,  to  be  shown 

in  single  trusses:   ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas; 

2nd,  Piece  of  Plate,  ^t^  ;  3rd,  ditto,  £2. 
N.     For  the  best  Collection  of  6  distinct  varieties,  to  be  shown 

in  single  ^trusses :   ist,  A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas; 

2nd,  Piece  of  Plate,  £1  ;  3rd,  ditto,  £2. 

Open  to  all  Classes. 

O.     For  the  best  Group  of  Roses,  arranged  in  a  vase  or  basket : 
A  Silver  Cup,  value  five  guineas. 

Exhibitors  must  give  notice  to  the  Secretary  on  or  before  20th 
June,  as  to  the  classes  in  which  they  propose  to  exhibit,  and  the 
space  which  they  will  require.  Roses  intended  for  exhibition 
must  be  in  St.  James's  Hall  before  ii  a.m.  They  must  be 
shown  in  moss,  and  in  boxes  painted  of  a  green  colour.  It  is 
requested  that  the  flowers  may  be  named  on  sheets  of  card  or 


270    THE  LETTERS  OF  DEAN  HOLE 

paper,  placed  in  front  of  the  boxes,  and  not  by  labels  attached  to 
the  individual  blooms. 

By  a  truss  is  meant  a  rose  with  its  buds  and  leaves,  cut  from 
wood  of  the  current  year,  so  as  to  be  exhibited  in  the  most 
natural  manner,  as  grown  upon  the  tree.  Any  addition  to  the 
original  truss  will  disqualify  the  pan.  In  cases  (very  rarely  occur- 
ring) where  neither  buds  nor  foliage  can  conveniently  be  included 
with  the  flower,  a  single  rose  may  be  exhibited. 

The  name  of  any  person  showing  roses  not  grown  by  himself 
will  be  publicly  advertised  on  discovery,  and  the  exhibitor  will  be 
excluded  for  the  future  from  competing  at  the  National  Rose 
Show. 

Subscribers,  on  payment  of  their  Subscription,  will  receive 
Schedules,  with  a  list  of  Subscribers,  and  Tickets  of  Admission 
to  the  Show.  Subscriptions  are  received  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Rivers,  Sawbridgeworth,  Herts ;  Mr.  William  Paul,  Ches- 
hunt,  Herts;  Mr.  Charles  Turner,  Slough,  Bucks;  and  the 
Rev.  Reynolds  Hole,  Secretary,  Caunton  Manor,  Newark, 
Notts. 


A   GENTLEMAN"  271 


DEAN    HOLE'S    DEFINITION    OF 
"A   GENTLEMAN" 

"  There  is  no  such  being  as  a  gentleman  by  birth. 
No  public  schools^  no  universities^  no  study  of  elegant 
literature,  no  intellectual  attainments,  no  accomplish- 
ments^ no  titled  playmates  can  confer  the  gift.  The 
real  elements,  the  truthfulness  which  cannot  lie,  the 
uprightness  which  will  not  stoop,  the  courtesy  which 
considers  all,  the  honour  which  cannot  be  bribed,  the 
command  of  the  passions^  the  mastery  of  the  temper — 
these  can  only  be  learned  from  God." 


^ 


INDEX 


INDEX 


"  A  Book  about  Roses,"  liii 

Adams,  31 

Ainger,  Canon,  on  Charles  Lamb's 
wit,  xxxiv 

Allen,  George,  and  Hole  at  Sunny- 
side,  xxxi 

America  and  England,  169 

America,  lecturing  in,  162,  164, 
168 

"Animal  Land,"  179 

Anstruther,  Colonel,  and  Hole, 
xxxi 

Antliff,  George,  and  Hole,  95 

Armagh,  Archbishop  of,  xl 

Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  153 

Ashwell,  74 


B 


Bacon's  Essays,  289 

Bampton  Lectures,  Liddon's,  65 

Bargeman's  opinion  of  Hole,  xxiv 

Beesthorpe  Park,  1 

Benedict,  Hole's  favourite  horse, 

59 

Benham,  W.  Gurney,  49 

Benson,  Archbishop,  and  South- 
well, 82 

Benson,  Archbishop,  death  of, 
172 

Benson,  Archbishop,  on  Hole's 
appointment  to  Rochester,  xi 

Birds,  Hole  and,  207 

Birley,  Joe,  xxvi,  51 

Bishop  of  Lichfield  and  Hole,  1 1 5 

Bishopric,  refusal  of,  55 

Blackney,  James,  xxvii,  xxxii 


B.  N.  C,  life  at,  6 

Board  of  Arbitration  for  labour 

disputes,  60 
Body,  74 

Bowels,  lignum  vitse,  167 
Bradley,  Dean,  Hi 
Bridges,    Dr.,    and    Hole's    "O 

King  of  Kings,"  96 
Brisbane,  Bishop  of,  162 
Bristowe,  Sir  Henry,  and  Hole, 

XV 

Brixton,  8 

Brown,  Cornelius,  and  Gladstone, 

98 
Brown,  Dr.  John,  66,  67,  68,  86 
Bruce  Findley,  166 
Burnand,  Sir  F.  C,  203 


Cadnam,  Prebendary,  and  Hole, 

107 
Cambridge,  Duke  of,  159 
Carter,  74 

Caunton  Beck,  the,  1 
Caunton,  scenery  of,  xlix 
Caunton  villagers  and  Hole,  91 
Chad,  Father,  73 
Chamberlain,  Joseph,  221 
Chaplain  to  Archbishop  Benson, 

Hole  appointed,  loi 
Child's  Bank,  193 
Church  Congress  of  1890,  xxxi 
Church  Congress  of  1892,  xxix 
Church     of     England    Working 

Men's  Society,  120 
Church  Review,  10 1 
Claddagh,  Leech's  sketch  of  the, 

13 


276 


THE    LETTERS   OF    DEAN    HOLE 


Colchester  Oyster  Feast,  49 

Coleridge,  xxviii 

Cooke,  Wingrove,  29 

Corea,  136 

Cricket,  Hole  and,  145 

Crimson  rambler  rose,  204 

Gumming,  Dr.,  8 


D 

Dasent,  29 

Davidson,  Archbishop,  xvii 

Davis,  Jack,  the  Rufford  hunts- 
man, xlviii 

Deane,  John,  1 1 

Deanery  of  Rochester,  appoint- 
ment to,  58 

Deanery  garden,  12 

Denison,  Archdeacon,  142 

Denison,  Archdeacon,  and  Hole, 
xxxviii 

Denison,  Mr.  Speaker,  15,  30 

Derby,  going  to  the,  187 

Devoniensis  rose,  liv 

Dickens,  Charles,  29 

Dickens,  Charles,  and  his  execu- 
tors, 161 

Dickens,  misquoting,  152 

Dinner,  a,  at  the  Deanery,  161 

Dog  and  sermon,  story  of,  176 

Dollinger,  xxiii 

D'Ombrain,  H.  H.,  117 

D'Ombrain,  Rev.  W.,  65 

Douglas,  David,  13 

Drake's  hounds,  6 

Duke  of  Westminster,  xxv 


E 


Ellison,  C.  C,  40 
English  Church  Union,  113,  190 
English     Church     Union,    with- 
drawal from,  63 
"  English  Flower  Garden,"  78 


"  Fairation,"  an  umpire  on,  153 
Farrar,  Dean,  133,  195 


Foord,    T,    H.,    and    Rochester 

Cathedral,  215 
"  Foord's  Tower,"  219 
Football   and   cricket,  gambling 

on,  171 
"  Foreign  service,"  Hole's,  xix 
Francklin,  Harry,  27 
French,  Rev.  Valpy,  T2) 
Freshmen,  hints  to,  7 
Frith,  W.  H.,  R.A.,  12 


Gambling,  Hole  on,  xxv 
Gambling  and  betting.  Hole  on, 

Gardens,  happiness  in,  219 
Gilbey's,  Mrs.,  school  at  Newark, 

97 
Gladstone  at  Newark,  97 
Gloire    de     Dijon     at     Caunton 

church,  87 
"God  Rest  Our  Queen,"  199 
Gore,  Canon,  181 
Gould,  Sir  F.  C,  sketch  by,  49 
Gounod  and  St.  Paul's,  79 
Grand   National   Rose   Show   of 

1858,  liv 
Green  roses,  207 
Gregory,  Dean,  xvii,  74,  78 
Grove,  Sir  George,  xxxviii 
Guardian    and    Hole's    view  of 

temperance,  xxix 
Guardian  on  Gambling  and  Bet- 
ting, 133 


H 


Haig  Brown,  Dr.,  xxxix 

Halifax,  Lord,  190 

Hall,  T.  B.,  and  roses,  83 

Harrison,  George,  167 

Hilton,  Mrs.,  4,  14 

Hole,  Samuel,  xlv,  23 

Hole  and  a  Chamberlain  meeting, 

xliii 
Hole  and  Caunton  villagers,  xliv 
Hole  and  Nonconformists,  xxxix 
Hole  and  poachers,  xxxii 


INDEX 


277 


Hole  and  working  men,  xxiii,  xxv 

Hole  as  friend,  xxxvii 

Hole  as  gardener,  lii 

Hole  as  horseman,  xlv 

Hole  as  missionary,  xiv 

Hole  as  preacher,  xxi 

Hole  as  raconteur,  xxxv 

Hole  as  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  xliii 

Hole  as  wit,  xxix 

Hole  as  worker,  xvii 

Hole  at  Caunton,  xxi 

Hole  at  eighty,  188 

Hole,  Blackney's  memories  of,  88 

Hole  on  temperance,  xxx 

Hole  rescues  a  woman  in  flames, 

36 
Hole's  early  days  at  Caunton,  xliii 
Hole's  red  coat,  xlviii 
Hole,  Hugh,  in  the  South  African 

War,  192 
Hole,  Hugh,  of  1567,  li 
Hole,  Hugh,  Vicar  of  Caunton, 

209 
Holman  Hunt,  29 
Horce  Subseciva,  13,  28 
Hunters,  summering  the,  xlvii 


Ibsen,  177 

Incense  and  copes,  140 


J 


Jackson,  Canon  Vincent,  115 
John  Brown,  little,  xxxvii 
"John  Inglesant,"  214 
Journal  of  Horticulture,  40 


K 


Kelham  Bridge,  I 
Kelly,  Admiral,  221 
Kempe,  C.  E.,  172 
King,  74 

Kingsley,  Charles,  compared  with 
Hole,  xxxix,  xl 


Kingsley,  Rose,  222 
Knox,  29,  187 

Knox-Little,  Canon,  xvii,  74,  133 
Knox-Little,   Canon,   and    Hole, 
xxv 


Lamb,  Charles,  xxxiv 

Latimer  and  Church  of  Rome,  74 

Leech,  10, 11, 12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  37 

Leech,  Mrs.,  32 

Leigh,  Percival,  29 

Lemon,  Mark,  18 

Letter-writing,  Hole's,  xvi 

Liddon,  74 

"Little  Tour  in  Ireland,"  11,  17, 

18,  21,  26 
Lowe's  failure  in  speaking,  xxiii 
Lucas,  58 

"  Lucy  Grey,"  story  of,  50 
Lyte,  J.  W.  Maxwell,  2,  3,  6 
Lyte,  Sir  H.  Maxwell,  9 
Lyte,  Rev.  H.  F.,  9 


M 


Mackarness,   Bishop    of   Argyle 

and  the  Isles,  lii 
Manchester    Free     Trade    Hall, 

Hole  at,  132 
Marriage  Service,  mutilating  the, 

211 
Mathews,  Charles,  33 
"  Memories  of  Dean  Hole,"  144 
Millais,  28,  33 
Mission  work.  Hole's,  xviii 
Mission  work.  Hole  on,  80 
Moor  Lane  at  Caunton,  xlviii 
Moorhouse,  Bishop,  132 


N 


Nansen,  177 

National  Rose  Show,  212 

Nethercote,  31 

Nethercote,  Henry,  154,  160 

New  moon.  Hole  bowing  to,  107 


278 


THE    LETTERS   OF   DEAN    HOLE 


"  Nice  and  Her  Neighbours,"  xlvii 
Nice,  Carnival  at,  82 
Nicholson,  Mrs.,  167 
Noel's  Sermons,  Shirley  Brooks 

on,  37 
Nonconformists,    Hole   and   the, 

89,  91,  92 
Nottingham,  Hole  at,  148 


O 


"  Our  Gardens,"  182,  188 

Owen,  Sir  Richard,  and  the  birds, 

189 
Oxford,  Hole  on,  224 


Paul,  George,  41,  45,  65 

Paxton,  Sir  Joseph,  197 

"  Pickwick,"  Hole  and,  98 

Pigou,  Dean,  142 

Pigou,     Dean,     appointment    to 

Chichester,  131 
Pollock,  Baron,  153 
Powell,  George,  xxviii,  117,  149 
Pretyman,  Sir  George,  192 
Provence    Rose,   Tennyson    and 

the.  Hi 
Punch  Dinner,  Hole  at  a,  34,  149 
Puns,   merciful   and    unmerciful, 

xxxiv 
Puritans,  131 
Pusey,  74 
Pytchley  Hunt,  15 


Queen,  dining  with  the,  183 
Queen's  College,  Oxford,  no 


R 


Raven,  Mrs.,  4 
Reading,  Hole  at,  72 
Revesby  Abbey,  trees  and  shrubs 
at,  48 


Rivers,  Thomas,  113,  114 
Roberts,  Lord,  192,  198 
Rogers  and  Leech,  66 
Romanising  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, 75 
Rooks,  Hole  and,  207 
"Rose  Amateur's  Guide,"  9,  112 
Roses  at  Caunton  in  1851,  liv 
Roses  at  Rochester,  liii 
Rose  judging  at  the  Palace,  129 
Rose,  "Reynolds  Hole,"  64 
Rose  trees  for  pots,  46 
Rufiford,  shooting  at,  178 
Ruskin,  Hole  and,  95 
Ryle,  Canon,  73 


St.  Paul's,  Hole's  first  sermon  at, 

n 

St.  Vincent,  Lord,  109 

Samuel  Hole  and  Caunton  water, 

152 
Selby,  Luard,  202 
Self-defence,  art  of,  xlv 
Selwyn,  Bishop,  155 
Shaftesbury,    Lord,    and    Leech 

pension,  28 
Shirley  Brooks,  29,  33 
Shirley  Brooks's  letters  to  Hole, 

35 
Shirley  Brooks,  Layard's  Life  of, 

35 
Shorthouse,  J.  Henry,  126,  157 
Shuttleworth,  Canon,  on  Hole  as 

speaker,  xxiv 
Silver,  Henry,  10,  149 
"  Sons  of  Labour,"  224 
Southwell,  Hole  as  Bishop  of,  85 
Spence,  Dean,  136 
Stainer,  Sir  John,  79,  224 
Stephenson,  George,  43,  197 
Stokes,  6 


Talbot,  Dr.,  xxiii 
Talbot's,   Dr.,  words    on    Hole, 
xl 


INDEX 


279 


Temperance,    J.    H.    Shorthouse 

and,  127 
Temple,  Archbishop,  195 
"Temple,"  George  Herbert's,  214 
Tenniel,  Sir  John,  29,  35,  183,  190 
Tennyson  and  Hole,  lii 
Thackeray,  28 
Thackeray,  Miss,  28 
"The  Birds  in  Our  Wood,"  207 
"  The  Garden  Diary,"  222 
"Then  and  Now,"  201 
Thompson,  William,  167 


Thorold,  Bishop,  lii,  97 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  154 

W 

Walpool's"British  Traveller,"  126 
Walton,  Izaak,  xxxix,  liii 
Waterton,  Charles,  1 1 
Wentworth  Forbes,  General,  221 
Wilkinson,  74 

Wordsworth,  Mrs.,  and  Caunton 
roses,  42 


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